When In The World
by JayJayinMay
Summary: After an explosion in the Decepticon Space Bridge, Jack, Miko, and Raf are stranded alone on separate planets, while the Autobots try desperately to get them back. But who are these strange bots they've met? Why do they look so familiar? And what does Starscream mean by saying he's been gone for years?
1. Hostages and Lies

When in the World

Chapter 1: Hostages and Lies

Jack Darby had learned a few things in his time with the Autobots. He had learned how to dodge, how to run from Decepticons, how to lie, how to hide, among other things. His twelve and a quarter friend, Rafael Esquivel, had also learned these lessons, although he had also learnt a few things about Cybertronian technology. No, it was the foreign exchange student, Miko Nakadai, who had never read the memo on self-preservation. So, as Jack stared at the bars of the cell he was in, he couldn't help but to blame her again.

It was supposed to be a simple recon, one that Jack could go on with his partner, Arcee. When they encountered some Decepticons, he had found cover while she called for backup. When Bumblebee and Bulkhead stumbled through the Ground Bridge, guns blazing, he had been relieved. That relief had only lasted seconds, however, before he saw the Asian girl jump out after her guardian. Raf, in a vain attempt to keep her back at the base, tried to hold her back, but only landed up being pulled through with her. Between the two of them, they had managed to hold the adventurous girl in a safe location.

Or so they had thought. The large metal hand that had grabbed them had came out of nowhere, and, over the explosions of the fight nearby, was unheard. Despite her screams, no one had heard Miko's pleas for help, except for us. The mech glanced at us for a second, before running away from the fight. Arcee and the others hadn't even noticed until it was too late.

Starscream, the egomaniacal ex-Decepticon, was apparently working with Megatron on something again. They were hardly friendly to each other, and could only stand the other due to their usefulness to the other's cause. After Megatron had inspected the three of them, they had been locked in separate cells onboard the Decepticon vessel, the Nemesis.

Now, Jack just stared out the see-through energy field that shocked him every time he touched it. The others were out of sight and out of earshot, but they were hardly out of mind. Jack, always analysing situations and with an intuitive knowledge of the Decepticons, could imagine quite clearly what they might be doing with the other two, and it made his blood boil. He wanted to lash out at his captors, but he was smart enough to know the odds of a single human defeating a group of Decepticons. No, it was Miko's job to be stupid, and he would hate to take her away from the one thing she was good at.

The energy field fluctuated momentarily, before a black screen covered the wall-sized field. On it was the faces of two Cybertronians: Megatron on the left, and Ratchet on the right. He stared at the screen, calling out to the Autobot medic, but it became obvious that he was only meant to watch, not participate.

"Ah, Ratchet. It is so _nice_ of you to answer. We hardly ever get to have a civil conversation." Megatron drawled, acting as innocent as a puppy. Ratchet didn't buy it. The other Autobots walked into the vision of the camera, staring at the screen. "Where are the children?" Optimus asked, his voice calm but cold. Arcee looked like she was seething with anger. Megatron just smiled, and tapped the side of his head patiently. "Ah, yes, the fleshlings. I believe Starscream wished to try out a new invention of his on them..." Starscream walked up behind Megatron, and he was rubbing his hands together, smirking. Arcee started yelling at them in Cybertronian, and the words were lost to me. Judging by Starscream's reaction, though, I figured that she might have made more than a few sailors jealous.

"Now, now femme, you don't want me to test on _your _petfirst, do you?" Starscream said, his smirk growing. Arcee continued her yelling. "Very well. I wonder what would happen if I opened a Ground Bridge with no destination coordinates..." Starscream trailed off, and Ratchet started yelling too. "You fools! Doing that would create unstable vortex. The effects are unfathomable!" The screen flickered, and I saw myself on the screen. I didn't watch for long, however, before a large hand grabbed me again, causing a new string of swear words, in English and Cybertronian.

"Leave Jack alone! What do you want?" Arcee yelled, but Starscream didn't stop. I heard Megatron talking calmly. "Oh, we only want a few human test subjects..." He paused for a moment; giving Starscream time to enter what I guessed was the Ground Bridge room. "Unless, of course, you are willing to disclose the location of your base. If you did that, then I _might_ just be generous enough to let the fleshlings go free." I saw another screen with the two faction leaders, and a third screen portraying what was going on in this room.

Starscream started typing in commands into the one console, keeping a tight grip on me. A small part of my mind wondered briefly if Miko or Raf were watching. "Warning, the destination coordinates for the Ground Bridge have not been set!" Starscream typed more, and the voice stopped. A familiar swirling vortex opened up by the frame, but arcs of blue lightning shot through it. "Starscream, surely you realise that the vortex could explode if anything disrupted such an unstable connection!" Ratchet cried. I looked at the screen, and noticed that Arcee, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Optimus were no longer with Ratchet.

"You have a minute, Auto-scum. After that, the boy gets to test you on that theory." Starscream replied, squeezing me a bit too hard for a second. I heard screaming nearby, and my heart stopped when I realised that it was Miko. Some drone walked in, holding the screaming girl, and an equally upset Raf. Starscream nodded at him, before turning back to the control panel. "Tell me, Ratchet, what would happen if I changed the coordinates of a Ground Bridge while something was in it." Starscream asked, squeezing me again. Ratchet's face fell. "Anything from an implosion to being scattered across the cosmos." Starscream laughed, and I started to wonder how long I was going to last in this place.

Suddenly, Megatron started screaming, his screen reactivating. "They have boarded the Nemesis! Starscream, take the flesh bags to the Space Bridge, and await further instruction there." Starscream nodded, before typing in coordinates. The vortex calmed down, and Starscream and the drone walked through it.

We exited in a large, underground cavern. The large metal ring in front of us was eerily similar to the one I had used to go to Cybertron a few months ago. The vortex behind us closed, and the two Decepticons walked up to the control panel. A monitor with Megatron's face was lit, and another had Ratchet's on it. Ratchet apparently could see us, because he immediately started asking a barrage of questions.

"Shut up, you worthless imbecile!" Megatron screamed, shutting the medic up for a moment. "Starscream, power up the Space Bridge, and do as we had planned." Starscream smirked in response, and started pressing various buttons. The large metal ring next to us started roaring to life, but a vortex didn't form. "Lord Megatron, we appear to be experiencing some... technical difficulties." Starscream said. Megatron yelled, and the seeker flinched away from the screen in response. His grip on me tightened, and I felt something crack.

The vortex decided to open then, deafening us three humans, while Starscream started typing in various commands. He hadn't noticed that my ribs were cracked, or he didn't care. Either way, every time he tightened his grip slightly, the pain increased.

A Ground Bridge roared to life nearby, and the four Autobots missing from the base ran out. It closed before any Decepticons could follow them, and the four stood in a standoff against Starscream and the drone. They could easily defeat the two of them, but they wouldn't risk hurting us. For once, I saw how the Decepticon way could help the Autobots so much. Arcee was calling my name, but I was in too much pain to call back. My eyes met her optics though, and we shared a look of mutual understanding. Optimus took a step forward. "Starscream, think this through. I'm sure we can come up with a..."

Optimus was cut off by a loud roaring sound, much louder than the Space Bridge behind us. The air around us was suddenly being pulled backwards, and I felt Starscream slipping. Next to us, I saw the drone fly backwards, Raf and Miko in hand, through the Space Bridge. I may have heard Bulkhead yell for her, but I was distracted as I felt the hand I was being held in fly backwards. Starscream gripped the frame of the active Space Bridge, trying to haul himself away from the unstable vortex he had created. The hand I was being held in was being pulled backwards, and I felt the static flow through my hair. Then, the grip around me loosened, and I flew backwards through a large tunnel of colours and energy.

_The Decepticon Space Bridge; Arcee _

Jack was gone.

He was gone.

Why? How? Why him! Why did all my partners have to die at the hands of Decepticons? I understood the human phrase of seeing red perfectly clearly now, Starscream had caused so much pain and anguish to me and my partners, and now it was time for pay back. With one shot from my blaster, I hit the seeker's hand, causing him to let go of his perch and through the Space Bridge. With another shot, I hit the control panel, short-circuiting it, and turning the vortex off. We got out from our cover, and walked over to the now dysfunctional Space Bridge.

"_**Ratchet, could you lock onto the coordinates of the Space Bridge?"**_ Optimus sounded concerned, but I heard the tones of desperation underneath. The three human teenagers, while causing their fair share of trouble, were just as much a part of the team as Ratchet and I. There was a sigh on the other end of the comm. link. _**"The destination coordinates were incomplete, Optimus. The Space Bridge was too unstable to track normally. It may take me a few days to adjust the settings."**_ I yelled, and blew up a rock next to me. Jack didn't have a few days, and, if the vortex had opened to somewhere, he was probably stuck with Starscream and, even worse, Miko.

"Starscream went through the Space Bridge. If it opened up somewhere, then they must have been dumped together. The kids won't be safe." I said to Optimus, my voice devoid of emotion. He nodded, but sighed in a very human manner. "There is nothing we can do. Opening the Space Bridge is impossible now." If I could blush then I would have; I just trapped Jack, Miko, and Rafael in the middle of space with Starscream. Hopefully, they landed up in an environment with oxygen. Ratchet opened up a Ground Bridge for us, and I cast the destroyed Space Bridge one final glance before stepping through it into Autobot Outpost Omega One.

_Space Bridge Vortex; Miko _

Jack had warned me that running into the middle of the Autobots' fights would get us into trouble. The trip to the Shadowzone was proof enough for him, but he had more if I ever dared to ask. However, I had never, ever, thought that I would land up being thrown into outer space because of that. Then again, Jack _had_ said that I was a bad luck magnet, the embodiment of Murphy's Law, a gremlin, when it came to running into battles.

Admittedly, though, being sucked through the vortex wasn't too bad. Sure, it was loud, but I had listened to worse, and the vortex made some pretty nice colours to look at. That stupid drone had let go of me, and he, along with Raf, had disappeared into the vortex already. A part of me wondered where we were going, but it didn't bother me too much. It wasn't like I could change that now, and I was going to space! Jack was so going to lose the 'been to an alien planet' card now.

The vortex suddenly disappeared, and I landed roughly on something large and pointy. Sitting up, I saw trees and vines. Not just any trees and vines, but humongous trees and vines. I looked down and saw what appeared to be the roots of one of the trees. I stood up, rubbing my battered back. The Autobots would be coming to rescue me soon, so I figured that I should find somewhere nearby to wait in safety. As I walked across the large forest floor, I couldn't help but wonder where the others were.

_Space Bridge Vortex; Rafael _

I had nearly lost my glasses in the vortex, but the drone that held a tight grip on me had a loose cable, which my glasses just managed to hook on. I was thanking whoever was up there for that, because there was no way I would find a pair of glasses on an alien planet. That is, of course, if we landed on a planet.

The vortex around us disappeared abruptly, and gravity took over. I landed rather painfully on my side, and the drone still held a tight grip on me. I groaned, before looking around. The ground was metal, and there were large piles of junk all around us. Great, of all the places in the universe I could have landed up in, I managed to land up in their garbage dump. I tried to push myself free of the drone, but it tightened its grip. It stood up and looked around, before walking in a random direction.

It took me a while to notice it, but I could definitely hear gunfire in the distance, and explosions. Not just any type of gunfire or explosions, though, this was definitely Cybertronian weaponry. Maybe someone here could contact the others on Earth. I smiled at the thought. It took me until we reached the warzone itself that I realised something.

I was being held by a Decepticon. These Autobots wouldn't see me as a casualty.

In the words of the Earth-bound Autobots: I am so fragged.

_Space Bridge Vortex; Jack _

My ribs still hurt, and the blinding lights and deafening noise weren't helping me at all. I couldn't get the look of Arcee's face out of my mind. She must be beating herself up at losing another partner. I heard an explosion in the direction I had come from, and the vortex shook slightly. The wind didn't let up, though. It took a whole minute before the vortex ended abruptly, and I landed on metal. The sky above me was dark, but there was artificial lighting nearby. I sat up, and my jaw fell back down.

I was back on Cybertron. Only, this time, it was inhabited.

* * *

**Chapter 1 of my first story on , and I am extremely nervous right now. Hope you enjoyed it, and know that there will be more to come. Sadly, however, I don't have a permanent internet access at home, so I can't promise regular or frequent updates ):**

**To those of you who liked the story or not, please review! I'm not used to people reading my work, but I won't complain about suggestions or advice! Of course, if you love my writing, then I won't complain either... Please forgive me if it's not original, or if any pesky spelling mistakes managed their way through. As I've said, I'm new at this...**


	2. Screaming at the Stars

Chapter 2: Screaming at the Stars

_Autobot Outpost Omega One; Arcee_

"So, you mean to tell me that the kids were sucked up by that Space Bridge!" Fowler was angry. We had been forced to explain the situation to him after he hadn't seen the kids for a week. Behind him, Mrs Darby was crying her eyes out. Just looking at her made my heart sink; I had failed Jack, which in turn meant that I had failed her. However, instead of the anger I expected, she only cried, even at her home. In a way, her tears hurt more than any words, weapons or anger ever could.

"Agent Fowler, I have been trying to triangulate their location since they disappeared. Trust me. However, the vortex was unstable, which has caused many possible variables to consider." Ratchet explained. He had barely recharged since the kids had left. Sure, he often wished loudly for peace and quiet, but he was very upset now that his wish had been granted.

"What am I supposed to tell the Pentagon when they catch wind of this? How do we even know that the kids are still alive?" That last sentence caused June to sob harder, and Fowler instantly regretted his words. He walked over to the upset women, and gave her a shoulder to cry on. Unluckily for him, he had also given her a stomach to punch, and June Darby had plenty of strength from working at the hospital.

"I do have some good news, though." Ratchet said, not looking away from the monitors. He caught our attention, but didn't wait for any of us to respond. "The kids definitely got out of the vortex. The bad news is that I can't pinpoint any specific location for their exit. The vortex was fluctuating too much, and milliseconds throw off the location by galaxies." June calmed down slightly, before sobbing harder again. Fowler leaned against her for a moment, before turning to Ratchet. "Could they have survived this long?" Ratchet didn't answer straight away. "If I am correct, then the kids landed in oxygen-rich environments." Ratchet typed at the monitor some more. We just stood around the room, not sure what to do.

A light on the monitor turned on, gaining Ratchet's attention. "A bridge was briefly opened to the desert near the Grand Canyon, and someone has lit a distress beacon there." Optimus nodded, and turned to Bulkhead and Bumblebee. "The two of you should go and investigate. Arcee and I will stay here, in case Ratchet gets any more leads." The three of us nodded, before the two forlorn guardians walked through the Ground Bridge. The rest of us stared at the monitors for a few minutes, trying desperately to work out where the kids had gone.

"_**Guys, we need a Ground Bridge here. We have a... hostage."**_ Bulkhead called, distracting us from our lack of progress. _**"I'm opening one at your coordinates."**_ Ratchet replied curtly, before returning his attention to the monitor. I stayed with him, while Optimus waited for the two mechs to come out of the bridge. I didn't turn to face them when I heard metal being dragged on the floor, or the bridge power down. I did turn, however, when I heard the all-too familiar sound of a cry of pain, one that I had heard several times, but had never forgotten.

The mech was thrown to the ground, and even Ratchet pulled himself away from the monitors to surround him. The mech rotated, wincing slightly when a spark flew out of its frame. He looked like slag. His entire frame was covered in rust. Water was dripping from various places on him. He fell on his back after trying to sit up, and the five of us powered up our blasters. Optimus was the first to break our silence. "Start talking now, Starscream."

_Forest Planet; Miko_

When I entered the exchange student program, I went to the 'entertainment capital of the world', AKA Jasper, Nevada. Obviously the pamphlet lied. However, I would have taken ten Jaspers compared to this planet. Everything was green, and moist, and made a crunching noise when you moved near it. The only things I could really bear with were the large red flowers popping up in the foliage, and the large vines, which provided a great way to climb through the greenery.

Water had been easy to find. Despite what my teachers and my host parents thought, I actually _did_ pay attention in class. Occasionally... The giant, various coloured fruits I came across filled me quickly, although they left just as quickly too. They hadn't killed me yet, so I figured they were safe to eat. What I wouldn't give for my guitar, a steak, Bulkhead, and something non-plant to walk on...

I was trekking through the forest, looking for some form of civilisation. I figured that, where there was life, there might be a way off of the planet. From what Ratchet and Wheeljack have mentioned several times, Earth was the least developed species they had ever met. Sure, some of them didn't go into space, but they were more than capable to.

I travelled by day. It wasn't because I was afraid of the dark, but, rather, what was in the dark. The noises I could hear at night weren't exactly a normal ambience, unless growling is on par for this planet. So far, I was starting to agree with that fact. At night, every noise in the forest was amplified. During the day, it was humid, bright, and everything was green. My choice was made simply by the fact that night here more or less coincided with Earth nights.

I sighed, wiping the sweat off my forehead again. My clothes were ripped in places, and I had lost a shoe somewhere along the line. I sat against the base of one of the mammoth trees, and rested for a moment. The forest seemed to be getting hotter, denser, and greener. Dejectedly, I slapped the tree, hoping it might solve all my problems and take me home. It didn't, but it had been worth a try.

The sun rose higher into the air, and I shied away to a mass of vines nearby. The things were oddly stringy, and several threads were tighter than my guitar's strings. A thought popped into my head, and I grabbed the vine as well as I could. I plucked the threads with my one hand, and sounds were formed. It wasn't the same as my guitar, but any noise that reminded me at home was welcome here.

_Junk Planet; Rafael_

The drone had moved through the war zone with ease. After several terrifying minutes of being held in the hands of the drone, he had found a bunker of some sort, and the two of us had holed up in it. It felt like ages since I had seen Earth, and everything here seemed to be made of junk metal, or sheets of recycled metal. I figured that that wasn't the case, though, since the drone occasionally brought me some food to eat and water to drink after he went out. He'd leave me in a makeshift cage, which was really just an old Energon cube, whenever he went out, which was quite often, and sometimes he wouldn't take me out when he returned.

Now was one of those moments. I just sat in the cube, staring at the walls or ceiling, and listening to the constant gunshots and explosions that littered the air. There was no pause in the fights, and I often how the two sides constantly thought without some form of recharge or sleep. Ratchet had often berated Arcee or Optimus for not recharging enough, so surely these bots had to do it as well. Unless there were enough for them to take shifts.

The gunfire approached the area my bunker was in, and I was suddenly scared for my life. The roof of the bunker didn't look like it would hold out very well if it was hit too hard. I stared at the entrance of the bunker, hoping that the drone would come, sense the danger of the area, and take me away from here. It might be a Decepticon, but at least I was still alive. An explosion rocked the ground, and something fell from the ceiling and clattered to the floor.

The gunshots suddenly sounded as if they were right by me, and I heard something large fall to the ground outside, near the entrance. I turned, and saw the offline frame of the drone that had been caring for me. Energon pooled around it, and some of it started flowing into the bunker. There were several more gunshots, and I heard footsteps of some kind, large and powerful, walking up to the entrance.

"**I've never seen a drone like this before. The Decepticons must be doing upgrades."** A voice said. I was suddenly very grateful that I could understand Cybertronian, even if it was only the basics. I heard metal hit metal, and the drone's frame shook slightly. The gunfire continued, but I heard a very mechanical laughter. **The Con led us right to his bunker. We should kill the troops inside and take their supplies."** A second, familiar voice said. I couldn't quite place where I had heard it from before. There were more footsteps, but they didn't enter the bunker.

An explosion shook the bunker again, and the roof started caving in. Small pieces of metal fell into the cube, and I was only saved from injury by a large sheet that covered the top. Another explosion shook the ground, and the metal around me rattled. Out of instinct and an urge for survival, I screamed for help, but the sound was lost in the gunfire.

The mechs outside walked to where the bunker had been. **"That should take care of them. This one here was carrying supplies, so I don't think they had any in there."** The first voice said. **"Don't you think that it's odd that the Decepticons needed organic food, and water, for their supplies?"** The familiar voice asked. I heard a grunt. I screamed again, this time even louder. **"Well, either way, he doesn't need it now."** The first voice laughed, but the second remained silent for a moment. **"Did you hear that? It sounded like something screamed from in there. Do you think that the drone had an organic hostage or something?"** There was a pause, where only gunfire could be heard. **"Slag, you're right. My scanners pick up organic life in there. Slag, we fragged this one up. We'll have to dig it out now..."** There was shuffling above me, and then the metal started to shake.

_Cybertron; Jack_

Cybertron while it's populated is quite beautiful. The colours, the lights, there's no way to compare it to Earth. I suddenly understood why Arcee had been so upset the last time we had come here. The destroyed Cybertron was nowhere near as majestic as this place. I didn't admire the majesty for long, though, because I had to dodge Cybertronians of various shapes and sizes as they continued with their lives, none the wiser of my presence on the floor. Out of a desire for safety, I had run to the walls of the buildings, and had climbed through a small crack when I found one.

That was how I had gotten here; in the walls of what I assumed was a Cybertronian apartment building. The mech that was in the apartment closest to me lived alone, but what glimpses of him I saw through cracks in the walls told me one thing: this guy was as big as Optimus. His eyes glowed blue, but I had seen various colours, such as white and yellow, on the streets below. I briefly wondered if the war had affected the Cybertronians living here, or if they were in a war-free zone.

I was starving, and my stomach kept reminding me of that little fact. There was water leaking from some of the pipes near where I slept, a place where I could watch when the mech left and entered his apartment, but the walls didn't have anything in them that I could eat. I had tried to placate my hunger with more water, but it hadn't work too well.

Eventually, my desire for food became overwhelming, and I walked to the crack in the wall. The mech had left already, and he was usually gone for a few hours. I figured that would give me enough time to try and find some food. I squeezed through the tight hole in the metal, and landed with a thud on the other side.

Rubbing my backside, I looked around at my surroundings. Everything was metal, and gigantic, sort of like I had expected Cybertron to be like before the war. The ceiling had flat panels that lit up the room, but there was a lamp-like thing on what I figured was a desk to my right. There was a kitchen-type area to my left, and I figured that that would be where I might find some food. I wandered over there, checking the door every now and then for the mech.

After searching the floor for several minutes, with no luck, I decided to climb up the counters and see if I could find anything up there. Even if I couldn't find food up there, at least I could get a nice vantage point of the room. I grabbed a hold of the metal, thankful for the spikes that seemed common in Cybertronian architecture.

The countertop was barren. I had searched for nearly an hour, but I couldn't see food on the counter, or anywhere in the room. All I had found was an Energon cube that was half-empty, haphazardly stacked with several other cubes. I sat by the edge of the countertops, dangling my feet over the edge. There was no food in the room, and I couldn't get to any of the others. The mech didn't speak English, and I didn't speak Cybertronian, so I couldn't ask for food. I stared at my feet for a while, letting the gravity of the situation set in.

I was disrupted from my thoughts by a loud clanging noise. I turned my head to see the mech that lived here, holding several pieces of metal that Arcee had once called data pads. The noise had been the sound of them toppling over and falling off his desk. He was picking them up already, but I couldn't help but laugh at the sight of it. After so many days alone, anything was funny. Yesterday, I had laughed at the sound of the water dripping from the pipes.

I covered my mouth with my hand when the mech stopped picking up the data pads, and turned in my direction. Now I was in for it. Staring at me with his deep blue eyes, he walked in my direction, slowly and silently. Despite the colour of his eyes, I couldn't help but feel a little bit afraid. After all, he was huge in comparison to me. He stopped when he was a few metres away from me, and he lowered his head to my level. He tilted his head in curiosity, but, for some strange reason, I felt perfectly safe.

_Autobot Base Omega One; Arcee_

"Where are Miko, Rafael, and Jack?" Bulkhead had his fist right by Starscream's face, and it didn't take a genius to know what the Wrecker wanted. He had been the less verbally upset by Miko's disappearance, but he constantly played her music when he thought no one was looking. I couldn't really blame him; I often drove past the KO Burger just so that I could be 'with' Jack.

Starscream just cackled slightly. "I haven't seen them since the Space Bridge sent me to that stupid water planet!" He yelled, and he moved his head as Bulkhead pounded it down. Optimus sighed. "The Space Bridge was unstable, but it would have thrown you all into the same place, would it not?" Ratchet asked, and I was about to call him a mad bot, before I realised what he was doing.

He was using Starscream's ego and scientist background against him.

There was another mad cackle. "Shows what you know! The Space Bridge threw _me_ to some science-devoid water planet. Those stupid creatures worshipped me, but they were idiots! I eventually got so mad at them that I stole resources from them and built a Space Bridge of my own! It took me a quite a few tries before I got the settings right, but I'm finally away from those stupid beings!" I smiled. If he worked it out once, then he could do it again.

"Of course, it took me _years_ to get the Energon to make so many errors!" He added, and my spark stopped for a moment. What did he mean by _years_? He had been gone for a week. Optimus said this out loud, and Starscream's head shot up. "Of course, that must have been the variable that I kept mixing up! I should have known it..." He started muttering nonsense, but he had our interest. "What are you going on about?" Ratchet asked. He missed the kids; I was certain of that much. Starscream grinned, and started laughing.

"You mean to tell me that you haven't worked it out yet!" He laughed louder. I pointed my blasters at him. "Start talking." I said calmly. Bumblebee beeped in agreement. Looking at us, Starscream turned serious again.

"I suppose it might not be obvious to you at first. Quite frankly, I hate to say this, but you'll never find the kids." Bumblebee shot a warning blast right next to the seeker, and his face looked almost as angry as when Megatron had possessed him. He beeped for him to explain. The rest of us nodded in agreement, our blasters remaining trained on his spark region.

"Very well, if you insist that I explain, then I will." He paused for a moment. "That was quite an explosion you caused with the Space Bridge, by the way. The whole thing collapsed on us." Ratchet gasped in understanding, and ran to the monitor. He said nothing as he typed away furiously. The rest of us turned back to Starscream. "Go on." Optimus was not going to take any more procrastination. "Surely your medic has worked it out by now." He said, gesturing to Ratchet.

We turned to him, and he faced us, the monitor behind him performing a statistical analysis. "Before I joined Optimus' team directly, I worked with a group of Autobots that protected a star system with plenty of resources. The one planet was entirely waterlogged. The species itself was quite advanced, despite not being able to live in air-based environments. Despite their technological advancements, though, they revered a god-like being, who, when he left, gave them the gift of inter-stellar travel. They had a functional Space Bridge, which, may I remind you, was pretty advanced outside of Cybertron's labs."

"What does that have to do with us now, Ratchet?" Bulkhead asked. Starscream laughed for a moment, while Ratchet sighed. "Their deity bore a strange resemblance to Starscream, in his Earth form." We gasped. Earth had been discovered long after Ratchet joined Prime. I was a bit lost, and I wasn't the only one. _**"What does that mean?"**_ Bumblebee asked, and I was grateful that he did. Ratchet sighed again.

"It means that we must ignore where the kids are, and must first find out _when_."

* * *

**Chapter 2 of my story, for those who want to read on. As I said before, I don't have permanent internet at home, so no frequent or regular update promises, and I apologize for the mistakes you may find. My spell check found nothing, but things tend to slip through some how. Hope you enjoy! Reviews are appreciated, and advice will be cherished!**


	3. Memories of the Past

**I am stunned by the response I got to this story! I didn't actually think that that many people would like it!**

**Thanks to all the people who added this to their favourites, or are following this! I'd thank you by name, but I am rushing to get this published while I still have internet access, so I'll try my best to thank you all by name next time!**

**I didn't add this at the beginning, so I'll add it now. I, JayJayinMay, do sadly admit that I am not in possession to the rights to Transformers, any any form whatsoever. I don't own the cartoons, the toylines, the characters, or any related franchise. I own this laptop, though, and the basic idea behind this is all mine. **

**As with the reviews, I can't respond right now, because I am rushing to get this up before I can't, so here's one bulk reply:**

**I'm glad you liked it!**

**Now, on with Chapter 3!**

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Chapter 3: Memories of the Past

_Autobot Base Omega One; Arcee _

"Ratchet, I think you should explain yourself." Optimus said calmly. The ambulance mech sighed, and turned away from the monitor. "Starscream probably has better knowledge of the topic." None of us made a move to ask the seeker about what was going on. Ratchet sighed again, and turned back to the monitors, typing away furiously.

"The Space Bridge was highly unstable when the kids and Starscream here went through it. I had thought that the destination coordinates would have been the only thing scrambled. However, as Starscream here pointed out, it appears I was mistaken." Starscream muttered something under his breath, and started to squirm a bit. Four blasters were pointed at him again.

"It's rather simple, really." Starscream said, arrogance dripping from his voice. "A combination of disturbances caused a large feedback loop in the vortex. I cannot say what exactly caused it, but I know that the vortex started to collapse on itself. I was thrown out of a rip in the walls onto that infernal water planet, with no means of escaping." Ratchet nodded, not looking away from the monitors.

"So Miko, Rafael and Jack are in the past?" Bulkhead asking, rubbing his helm. Ratchet nodded. "I would guess that the vortex threw individual objects into different regions of space-time." Bulkhead sighed, and I figured he was getting a processor-ache. I could feel one growing in mine too. Optimus turned to the medic. "How is this possible?" Starscream sighed loudly and exaggeratedly, but stayed silent. Ratchet turned around to face us again, looking upset that we had disturbed him from his work.

"A feedback loop with the Ground Bridge locked the kids in a pocket dimension, where time passed but space was limited. They could interact with us and vice versa." He paused for a moment, probably to gather his thoughts. "A feedback loop with a Space Bridge, which is immensely more powerful and manipulates the fabric of space-time, should have caused a similar breach in inter-dimensional boundaries." He waved his hand as if this should be obvious. I stared at my blaster, starting to wish I could shoot the medic with it instead of Starscream. Actually, on second thought, maybe both of them...

Ratchet obviously saw the expressions we wore, and continued his explanation. "The Space Bridge folds space and time to create an instantaneous bridge across a large distance. A feedback loop could, in theory, force the children into different parts of space or time. Starscream appeared in a time period millennia before we arrived on Earth. It would stand to reason that the kids were thrown into different parts of the temporal universe, and are either interacting with the past or the future." Bumblebee sighed. **"I'm ****_getting_**** a processor-ache the size of the temporal universe! How do we get them back?"** I nodded in consent.

"I suppose that we could recreate a more stable bridge across the temporal universe, and retrieve the kids from wherever they are. Assuming, of course, we can locate them in space and time. My scanners are not capable of scanning through time." Optimus turned to Starscream. "You managed to travel back here in one piece. I am assuming you are capable of recreating that dimensional opening." Starscream laughed. "Like I would ever help you Auto-dolts!"

I moved forward powering up my blasters and aiming them at his wings. The vain seeker cowered, but remained in his place. "I am sure we could come to an agreement. You let me go free, and I'll assist in reopening the Space-Time Bridge." Optimus nodded, and dragged Starscream deeper into the base. Ratchet sighed, turning back to his monitors.

"The three of you are to return to your normal duties. There's nothing we can do until I find when they are." We nodded and started to move away, but Ratchet shook his head. "That does not mean I do not require some assistance." We turned back to face the medic, who continued to work on the monitors. "Chances are, the kids left an impact wherever and whenever they landed." We nodded, wondering where he was going with this. "Search your processors for any instances of unusual organic life forms with unusual characteristics that suit the children. Be it with your own eyes, or by stories and rumours. If the kids landed on any planet worth searching, then they'll have caused some talking." We nodded, and walked out of the room again. We remained silent, all of us searching our memory banks for any traces of our human charges.

_Junk Planet; Rafael _

The metal that covered my shelter/prison was slowly being removed from above me. It shook more now, and the two mechs that were working above me, in the war zone, sounded louder and closer. They were talking to each other more and more frequently and I had been glad to overhear that they were Autobots. They also talked about the Wreckers often, so I was starting to suspect they were either part of the group, or the group had been in the area recently.

The piece of metal above me disappeared, and I was greeted by a pair of bright blue optics, staring down at me. **"Hey, Wheeljack! I found the organic! Looks like that drone was keeping him as a prisoner."** I still had a funny feeling that that voice was familiar. Another pair of blue optics appeared in my field of view, and realisation hit me. That new pair of optics, the second voice, was _Wheeljack_! I must have landed on a planet he was visiting! He even looked like he had before he donned an Earth alt mode!

**"I've never seen a creature quite like that before, and it's definitely not a native."** Wheeljack replied, before I was picked up by the back of my shirt by two fingers. I dangled in the air, far from the ground and right in front of a pair of blue optics. They looked at me for a moment, before the mech holding me started walking, still carrying me by my shirt. Wheeljack followed next to him, and they exchanged banter about the nearby fights.

We reached another large banker, but the two Autobots/Wreckers didn't think twice about entering it. The sound of gunshots and explosions were definitely more distant from here. I was dropped softly on a metal table, and the two pairs of optics lowered themselves to me level, analysing me. Why hadn't Wheeljack recognised me? Surely, he remembered me from his time on Earth, right.

**"I think I better bring someone who knows a little more about organics in here. Maybe he knows something about this creature. It looks sentient, though." **

I guess he didn't remember, then.

_Jungle Planet; Miko _

I was hungry again. That meant I had to climb all the way up to the fruit bushes again. I wasn't looking forward to it one bit. It was moments like now that I wanted a fridge filled with food to appear magically right in front of me. Sadly, though, a Space Bridge didn't drop a fridge on this stupid planet like one had done to me. In anger, I kicked a rock, which disappeared into the bushes.

I sighed, and started climbing the nearest vine. There were some of the purple fruit nearby, and I thought they tasted better than the orange ones. The orange ones were similar to rotten eggs, while the purple ones reminded me of caramel apples. I climbed upwards, ignoring the bright specks of orange all around me.

I reached the spot where the purple fruit grow, and jumped onto a nearby platform of leaves and twigs. I walked over to the fist-sized round fruit, and pulled one off the vine, eating it slowly and savouring the taste. I could definitely eat this all day, but I was going to leave them so that they didn't run out after a few days. I had no idea when the Autobots were going to get here, after all. It had been over a week already.

I finished the satisfying fruit, and walked along the natural platform. The only problem with any of these fruits was that they left my throat dry. It was bearable, but I usually quelled it with water. The water was on the forest floor, but I thought it was easier to walk up on the platforms. I reached the right spot, and slid down a vine to the puddle of drinking water I had found. I splashed my face with some first, before gulping down handfuls of it. When I was done, I climbed back up to the platform and walked towards the part of the floor I deemed as home.

My favourite pastime on this planet, when I had nothing else to do, was use the vines as an instrument. The strings, when plucked, sounded an awful lot like a guitar to me. In boredom, I would play the tune I had written for Bulkhead. It didn't sound quite the same on the vine, but it was enough to remind me of home. I sat on the large rock and softly played the vine, humming along to the tune Bulkhead had loved.

_Cybertron; Jack _

The mech had been staring at me for several minutes now. It was getting quite unsettling. If he wanted to kill or squash me, then he might as well get it over and done with. If he wanted to run screaming into the sunset, then he should do it now. If he was going to start discussing Shakespeare with me, then he might as well start already. At this rate, I'd die of boredom before he realises what he wants to do.

Eventually, the mech decided to move his one hand towards me. I backed away cautiously as it approached me, and the mech stopped, his hand not quite near me yet. I noticed that the mech seemed more curious and concerned then a normal being would be. After all, if anyone on Earth saw a strange creature on their counters, the first thoughts that went through their minds was usually 'squish'. To be honest though, I _really_ wasn't complaining that he didn't want to do that.

The mech opened his mouth, and loud whirs and clicks filled the air. Reflexively, I threw my hands over my ears and put my head between my knees to tune out the noise. The mech stopped when he saw my strange reaction, and his face came closer. I calmed down a bit when I was covered in a familiar blue glow. He may not be one of the Autobots I know, but at least he was one with a good spark. I turned to face the giant blue optics, and let calmness fill my body. There's no pointing in cowering in fear; I'm killed, I'm ignored, or I'm helped, and nothing I can say or do is going to change that much.

The mech made more clicks and warbles, but this time at a much softer pitch, so that I didn't cover my ears in pain. I shook my head when he was done though. "I don't speak Cybertronian. I just speak English." I raised the pitch of my voice slightly so that he could hear me better, as I was accustomed to doing with the Autobots back home. The mech mimicked the motion of shaking his head, and I noted with awe that shaking your head had a similar meaning in both cultures. At least, I thought it did. The Autobots often nodded or shook their heads in response to something, but I had assumed it was an acquired action.

The mech grumbled something quickly, before walking away again. He seemed like he was in a rush as he walked through one of the doors in his apartment. I sat on the counter again, not sure what to do. I didn't really want to traverse the floor while the mech was here, but I didn't want to stay on the counter either. I stared at my hole in the wall, suddenly wishing that it were on this side of the apartment right now.

The blue and red mech came back to kitchen/lounge room and stood in front of me. He offered his hand on the counter, his palm facing upwards. According to Arcee, it was a universal way of saying 'I mean you no harm'. While I knew it was entirely possible that he was lying, and going to kill me the first moment he could, I decided that I didn't really have many options, and took the offer. The moment my feet left the counter I was whisked up into the air, and the mech lifted me up to his optic level, while standing at his full height.

The mech seemed to stare at me for a few minutes, before I felt the familiar tingling sensation that was associated with a full body scan. The sensation passed a few seconds later, and the mech made more clicks and warbles. He started walking suddenly, and I grabbed on a finger for support. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that he had curled up his fingers to keep me safe on my perch, and I couldn't help but be glad that this mech at least cared about my well-being.

He entered a new room, and set me down on another large countertop. He picked up a container and set it out in front of me. I walked up to it, and noticed that, curiously, it was filled with water. I looked at it pointedly, before looking up at the mech. He stared back at me for a moment, until he realised what I meant with my silent gestures. He cupped his hands together, and made sipping gestures. It took me a moment to realise that he had just offered me drinking water, and smiled on the inside.

While I lapped up the water, I noticed that he had walked away again. I used some of the precious water to flush my face off, and I savoured the feeling of the grit and grime flow off of my face. I sat down next to the chest height container when I was satisfied, and tried my hardest to ignore my roaring stomach. I stared at the wall, hoping that my problem would just solve itself.

I don't know how much time passed before the mech walked back into the room. He looked at me, and made a gesture to take the container. I moved away, and nodded, making sure he realised I didn't mind. He took it away and poured the contents out into some receptacle, before putting the container into a cupboard beneath the counter I was sitting. The mech crouched down to my height again, and we stared into each other's eyes for a few minutes.

Deciding it was worth a shot, I pointed a finger at my mouth, and rubbed my other hand over my stomach, trying to gesture that I was hungry. The mech stared at me for a moment, before nodding, muttering several whirrs, and walking away. I watched the door he walked out for several minutes, wondering if I had conveyed the message or not.

The mech came back, and offered me a hand again. I took it, and we left the room once more. We walked through the kitchen/desk area where my hole was, and entered another room. It also had a desk, filled with even more data pads than the last one. There was a large solid metal shelf that I guessed was his bed, or berth as Arcee had called them.

He put me down on the small metal table next to his berth, and I walked over to a large piece of fabric that had been spread out there. I leaned down and inspected it, only to discover that it was actually two sheets of fabric. I turned to the mech, and he nodded, before lifting the one sheet and nudging me gently onto the other one. I got the message, and laid down on the impromptu bed. He placed the over sheet over me. I watched him as he turned off the lights off, and I drifted off as his optics dimly lit the room with their blue glow.

_Autobot Outpost Omega One; Arcee _

"So, is Starscream cooperating with you now?" I asked Ratchet. He huffed, before turning away from the many monitors in front of him. I noticed that they were all streaming data and formulae, and several were projecting probabilities of certain events occurring. He hadn't recharged in a long time, and we all knew it. "Starscream has given me the basic coordinates he used to return to the present time, but he keeps reminding me that the coordinates have to change for each of the children. The individual times and locations throw so many variables into the equation that it'll take a long time after finding the when before we can pick them up." He sounded irritated, and I personally didn't blame him.

I walked closer to him, and looked at the monitors. There were a few ideas floating in my head, and I wanted to run them past him. "What will we do with this knowledge when we're done?" I asked, turning back to him. He actually seemed surprised by the question, as if it hadn't crossed his mind before now. He shook his head after a moment, trying to clear the fog covering his processor.

"There is nothing that we can do. The past cannot be altered, and the future has yet to be determined. I am unsure if we will even be able to rescue the children, but we have to try." My thoughts stopped when he finished. I hadn't even considered the fact that we might not be able to get Jack back to the present. I shook my head, and let determination flow through my fuel lines. I'm not going to lose another partner, not to an explosion I had caused. He_ was_ coming back, whether he liked it or not.

Bumblebee walked into the room, and he too watched the monitors. "Any luck?" I asked, hoping that we might get a lead on their time period. He shook his head. **"Apart from a giant organic on Cybertron that tried to murder Megatron, I can't think of anything."** I placed a hand on his shoulders, and looked him in the optics. "We'll get them back; I promise." Ratchet muttered something under his breath and turned back to the screen.

"It doesn't help that we don't know where or when they are. I don't even know if they landed on a planet they could survive on." He said, and I noted a tone of concern in his voice. More windows opened up on the monitors, and he was running statistics and reports on the event through it. He turned around and looked back at us.

"I did a diagnostic on the explosion, and the tunnel had been extraordinarily unstable. I can't map out probable time periods until we find at least one of them." He added. He gestured to one chart, which was representing time as a line, and the bridge as a curved line intersecting one point. A closer look told me it met at the approximate point where Starscream had landed. "With more coordinates, I could try and find a pattern in where and when they appeared."

"Until then, we are to continue our duties, and try our hardest to think of any instance of suspicious organic activity." Optimus said. I hadn't even heard him walk into the room, but I was used to him just appearing out of nowhere by now. He walked out the room again, clearly still deep in thought.

**"Does my story of the giant organic that almost murdered Megatron count as suspicious?"** Bumblebee asked. Ratchet threw one of his wrenches in the direction of the scout, but he ducked before it could hit him. The medic scowled in response. "Unless that giant organic was human shaped, sized, and spoke English or Japanese, then I doubt it was any of the children. I remember that story, though. It's based on a true event."

I turned to face him, slightly surprised. "I thought that it was just a myth." I responded, and Bumblebee looked just as surprised. Ratchet smiled softly. "There was an assassination attempt on Megatron near the beginning of the war. Some believed that that event single-handedly drove Megatron to start the whole thing, actually. But the idea that an _organic_ tried to kill him is preposterous." Bumblebee just glanced at him in surprise.

**"I wonder how things would have turned out if they had actually succeeded."** The yellow mech asked, and I nodded. Ratchet turned to us and there was an almost maniacal smile on his faceplates. "That's the funny thing... they did."

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**If there are any errors, please point them out. I was rushing to get this up, sadly, and I sometimes miss a few things, and so does my spelling and grammar program. Hope you enjoyed it, and until next time!**

**Also, I am open to any suggestions for this story or others. I know where I'm going, but there's still plenty that can happen until I get there.**


	4. The Unexplained

**Chapter 4 of When in the World. Hopefully it'll explain some things for you (not all of it, though, because I need to keep the suspense going). Raf has to deal with familiar mech, Wheeljack, and some random mech 'with no name' (yet). Miko's going to satisfy her curiosity on this strange new world. Jack is going to do nothing in style as he prepares for what might just be the worst idea his saviour has ever had (yet). More importantly, who can forget that Arcee wants to know what happened to Megatron, and is trying her hardest to get Ratchet to submit to her devious plans for world salvation.**

**Replies to my reviewers are at the bottom.**

**Apologises in advance for any evil spelling and grammar problems. I'm only human, and my computer needs reminding that I haven't spelt my name wrong every ten minutes...**

**On with the show!**

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Chapter 4: The Unknown

_Autobot Outpost Omega One; Arcee_

"Hold on a moment!" My voice reverberated through the room, and Ratchet turned to face me. The expression on his faceplates showed that he was surprised and irritated by my outburst. That didn't stop me, though. "Megatron was killed!" Bumblebee nodded. **"Yeah, if they succeeded, then how is he still here today? How was he still there for most of the war?"** Ratchet twirled a wrench in his hands, as if contemplating whom he was going to try and hit first.

"Optimus was the only known witness, as far as I know. The war hadn't officially started until after that." Ratchet said, trying to dodge the topic. It didn't work. Bumblebee tried to make himself as cute and innocent looking as possible, to 'convince' the poor mech to reconsider. That didn't work either. Ratchet had long since become immune to his 'sparkling' charm. I motioned with my arm for him to go on.

"Well, no one knows the details. All that I know for certain is that Optimus came to me afterwards, and he seemed a bit... disturbed by what had transpired. He had left Megatron there, not by choice but because there was no one to get the body out. When Optimus went back, the body was gone already. A few days later, the 'dead' Decepticon leader led an assault on Iacon itself." Ratchet put down the wrench and turned to face us completely. He had decided that we weren't going to give up, so he had made himself comfortable instead.

"Of course, you Auto-dolts wouldn't know what had happened at the Decepticon base. I had been in charge in his absence, and I had almost prevented the destruction of the Energon supplies." Starscream sauntered in, followed by Bulkhead. Bulkhead looked as if he had heard the entire conversation, because he looked more than surprised.

"However, our ever-faithful leader returned just before I managed to implement the whole plan. Look where it got us now." Starscream gestured a hand at the base around him, and sighed, leaning against a bare wall. "I miss the sky." He murmured. We ignored him simply because we wanted to.

"Well," Ratchet continued, "no one knows how he survived. Optimus even provided scan results showing that his entire frame was seconds from permanently offlining." Starscream laughed slightly at the idea, but otherwise remained silent. "Optimus doesn't like thinking about that day. It reminds him of the first chance he had had to stop the war before it could get out of hand."

I nodded in understanding, but I was still shocked on the inside. What _would_ have happened without Megatron in the picture? Maybe Ratchet should reconsider not trying to alter time as we know it...

_Junk Planet; Rafael_

**"So, you say you found the organic in a lone Decepticon's bunker"** A large mech that I had never seen before asked, one hand gesturing to me as I stared up at their faces. I definitely knew Wheeljack, but I had the odd feeling that I had seen my other rescuer before. Maybe he just had one of those faces. Somehow, I doubted it, but I'd keep trying every possibility until I finally figured it out.

**"Yeah, he was being kept in an empty Energon cube."**Wheeljack said. He pulled out several wrapped packages from a chest compartment and placed them on the table. **"He was carrying these, too."** The mech, the medic, I presumed, scanned the packages before turning to face the two of them. **"It's organic food. I can't imagine why a Decepticon would keep something organic alive, but he was definitely providing for it. He must have traded with the locals to get this."**

**"I dragged the body to the other med bay, for examination. I haven't seen that design on a mech before, Decepticon, Autobot, or other. He still had the insignia, though."** The familiar mech said. The medic guy placed a hand to his head, seemingly thinking for a few minutes, before moving his hand and looking back at me.

**"The organic is sentient, I believe. It continues to stay where it is, rather than follow the typical retreating actions of non-sentient beings."** The medic said calmly. Familiar mech just stared at me, his jaw practically hanging by a few cables. **"A sentient ****_organic_****, I didn't think it was possible!"** I covered my ears at the volume of the shriek of Cybertronian, and the medic seemed to glare at familiar mech.

**"I suppose we need to care for it, then? Until we work out how to speak to it. After that, we can maybe try and get it back to its home planet. It's definitely not local."** Wheeljack said, and the medic nodded. He pushed the small packages of food towards me, and I readily opened one up and ate it. The three mechs just stared at me, slightly in awe and slightly worried. They had a conversation while I ate, talking about the reasons they had been in the area. Apparently, they had been trying to infiltrate the real Decepticon base. After I finished the food, I watched the conversation for what felt like hours.

**"I think he can understand us."** The familiar mech said suddenly, disrupting the medic from his rant about following protocols. The other two mechs joined him at staring at me. **"There's no way for us to prove it."** The medic said, but Wheeljack shook his head. **"There is, it's just not the normal way to treat a liberated prisoner. We just ask it a question."** The medic nodded, and leaned closer to me on the table, his face right in front of me.

**"If you understand us, prove it."** The medic said. "I can understand you." I replied, hoping that that would be sufficient proof. I guessed that it wasn't, because the medic shook his head. I just stared at him. How was I supposed to prove that I could understand him if I couldn't speak a language he could understand? Familiar mech pushed the medic out the way, and put his head right by me too.

**"If you can understand me, then jump, and walked to my left."** I nodded at him, before doing as he said. When I stopped walking, the three Cybertronians were silent. **"Well, slag."** Wheeljack said. Familiar mech just nodded, standing upright again. The medic glanced at me. **"Well, it's sentient, and it understands us. I guess now we'll just have to find out how to understand it."**

_Cybertron; Jack_

"So, what are you doing today?" I asked the large mech as he left his recharge. His optics darted over to me, and he looked more than a little surprise. I was more than a little upset, and frightened, that he might have forgotten me, and it looked as if he had. That or he had thought I had just been some sort of weird and wonderful dream. The mech moved his head closer for a moment, and there was a soft trilling of gears. I hadn't expected him to reply in English, but it was reassuring to hear my voice.

The mech plucked me up from the table and walked out of the room, with me resting in his palm. I hugged his thumb for support as it, along with the other appendages, was raised upward for, I assumed, my safety. He placed me back on the counter where we had made our first contact, and wrestled out a cube from a cupboard. He walked over to a tap, and Energon flowed out of it, much to my surprise. I then chided myself; what had I expected to flow from it, candy drops?

The thought of food reminded my stomach that there was a noticeable lack of it, and it rumbled loudly. I looked up at the mech, hoping that he hadn't noticed the noise. I ducked my face away when I noticed that he was staring at me with a look of curiosity. Oh, why, to whatever deity was looking down upon me, did I have to be tortured like this? Hungry, lost, surrounded by Cybertronians, alone, cold, embarrassed, lost in translation... What had I done to deserve this?

The mech sipped on his Energon cube slightly, but his gaze didn't move from my area, much to my displeasure. For a fleeting moment, jumping off the edge of the counter and landing on my head was a tempting thought, but I pushed it aside. The others would find me eventually, and then I'd be home again, with mom, Miko, Raf, Arcee, the others. Heck, I'd be happy to see Vince right now, if it meant I'd be home, in a nice warm bed with food. My stomach grumbled again at the thought.

The mech placed his half-finished cube on the counter and picked me up again. There was another rumble of clicks as he spoke, but I didn't even bother to respond. It wasn't like he could even understand me. If he could, then that would mean that he'd been on or near Earth for some time, and then, surely, he would have realise that _I_ was from Earth too. The mech just walked towards his apartment door, the one he left through every day, and I practically swallowed my tongue in fear when I realised that he was taking me to his work.

_Jungle Planet; Miko_

After a week or two, or three or four or... I actually lost count of how long I had been here. Despite that, and my constant moving through the forest, I still had to listen to that frustrating noise _every single night_! I might not be a genius, like Raf, but I knew this much: that was not a normal noise for a forest. If it wasn't a normal noise, then that meant that it was something non-plant, and that meant living, breathing life. My biology teachers might argue plants were alive, but trust me; Jack has more life then these stupid leafy things.

I shook my head. I needed to find out the truth. There was something _alive_ on this planet, and that meant there was someone or some_thing_ out there that could help me. So that was why I had decided one day, two, three, four... however many days ago, I couldn't remember, that I'd inspect that irritating noise. Of course, that meant that I'd have to walk through the forest at night, but I could live with that. So long as I _knew_ what was lurking just beyond sight. If it was just a dumb forest animal, then I could live on, knowing that my curiosity had been satisfied. It was better than just sitting every day, playing the jungle vines over and over again.

Now, as I was starting to regret the idea. During the day, the forest was bright green, humid and hot, and everything waved softly. At night, everything was thrown into blacks and greys (apart from those infernal fruit, which were somehow still bright as daylight), and the occasional luminous blue flower, one of which I had plucked and placed in my hair. The slightest breeze made the loudest noise possible, almost as if I was being followed, and I had to hug myself to try and keep some heat in. No, I definitely liked the forest more during the day.

I pushed aside another giant leaf, only to trip over a tree root, which caught my ankle perfectly. I raised my hands to stop a painful face-plant, but it never came. Instead, I caught another root on my side, and landed on my back. It took me a moment to realise, though, that I had landed at an angle, with my head at the bottom, and that I was still moving. Nearby, a few birds flew away, a shrill shriek disturbing their rest, as a strange creature fell off of a cliff.

I landed with a thud at the bottom of the slope. Someone up there was watching me, because I landed in a large pool of mud. I threw up most of what I had swallowed, and wiped the brown dirt out of my eyes. I waded to the edge of the pool, and was glad to have firm ground to rest on. I fell on my back, this time willingly, and stared at the stars through the thick foliage of the trees. They were all alien, and in alignments that I couldn't see, but, somewhere out there, was home. And, right now, Jasper was the most entertaining place imaginable.

A loud rumble disturbing me from my thoughts, and I sat up straight. That had been one of the noises I had heard at night, although it had been fainter from a distance! Mission: Find the creepy noise things had succeeded! I stood up, and for once, in who knows how long, I was smiling. The roar came again, and this time I noticed the mechanical notes in it. Mechanical means life, somewhere along the line. Either I had found Autobots, or similar to them, or some advanced civilisation that made machines! Either way, machines meant spaceship, and spaceship means one-way trip to Jasper Nevada. Well... maybe a pit stop in Japan...

I made my way through the dark forest floor again, heading in the direction of the noises. More roars came, and I noticed that a lot of them were different. Other animal noises tinted with mechanical tones sounded through the forest, but I didn't think anything of it. If there was life, then there was hope. If there was hope, then I could hope for something that tasted better than those bright fruits, which still mocked me here, as I ran through the foliage.

I pushed through the final layer of leaves, and stepped foot in a dark clearing. Above me, the moon of this planet shone its light through the opening in the canopy above me. I glanced around the clearing, making my way to the centre. The leaves beneath me, having fallen from the trees around here, crunched softly. I sighed in frustration when I realised that the clearing was empty, and the noises had stopped. I sat down in defeat, just wanting to rest.

I guess that I should have noticed something had been odd about the clearing, but I hadn't, and the leaves beneath me collapsed into a large hole. For the second time this night, I screamed, disturbing more bird-things. The whole world was moving in slow motion now, and I watched the moon gloating, mocking me with its floating prowess. I managed to flip the bird at it before I landed.

I had expected rocks or dirt beneath me when I landed. So, I was surprised to find vines instead. I tried to move, but the vines twisted with me, and I soon found myself tangled in a giant knot. I sighed, and blew a strand of hair out of my vision. I looked up, and saw how the vines had been woven into a sort of net. That was good, I guess. If the vines had been manipulated, that meant something that could think lived nearby, and it would inspect the net. It would find and help me. I just had to wait.

_Autobot Outpost Omega One; Arcee_

"Optimus never mentioned this, why?" I asked Ratchet. He just glared at me, still twirling his wrench, but he now had more targets to consider. There was a loud, theatrical sigh. "Would you admit that you had the chance to prevent the entire war _before_ it had started, but not taken it?" He asked. Bumblebee and Bulkhead looked at the floor, clearly admitting that would also have not mentioned that if they had been under similar circumstances. I would have too, but I had a plan to maintain.

"Why then, Ratchet, are we passing up _the exact same opportunity_? We could kill the slagger before he even learns how to transform, and none of this will happen!" I yelled at him, but he didn't flinch. Starscream was chorusing in agreement, but that was probably because he just wanted Megatron dead. Ratchet's expression was serious as he turned to face me in particular.

"We won't alter time, because then none of this will happen." He responded coldly. I just stared at him, now confused. Stupid medic... "If you were to go back and kill him, then we would never arrive on Earth. If we never arrive on Earth, then we'd never have met the children. If that never happened, then _none_ of this would happen. We'd never develop this formula for breaching time, and we'd never get the opportunity to kill Megatron in the past!" I maintained my glare, but admitted to myself that I was confused.

He sighed, but remained thoughtful. "Time would destabilize if we change a single thing. The only way this whole situation exists is because it already has! Starscream went back to that water planet and improved their technology by millennia because _it already happened_. Miko, Rafael, and Jack were thrown to who knows where _because it already happened!_ Megatron survived that incident because _that's how it happened!_ There's no changing time, no matter how hard you try." I glared back at him.

"It's worth a try, though." I said. Ratchet almost threw his wrench at me, but stopped himself last minute, which was a first for the medic, shocking all of us, Starscream included. "If we change time in an unintended way, it'll become unstable. The incident in the Space Bridge is a small scale version of what would happen if a small thing goes wrong!" He sighed. "Besides, time has several fail-safes implemented in it to keep itself stable."

**"What do you mean? Time is sentient?"** Bumblebee asked. Ratchet just shook his head. "It's hard to explain. Basically, everything has to have a cause, and an effect. If you go back in time to kill Megatron, your cause was that he had caused the war and the effect is his death. That's good and all, but, then, time will change, and the war won't happen. Then who will go back in time and kill Megatron?" The four of us remained speechless, but Ratchet went on.

"Or, someone else," Ratchet stared pointedly at Starscream, "will take his place and instigate everything we know Megatron did under his name to keep control of the troops." We remained dumbstruck, but Ratchet wasn't finished. "Worse still, the universe could become so unstable that it'll just collapse, and _nothing_ will exist." He finished his rant, and the room was left in silence.

"So, even if we find out where and when Miko is, we might not be able to fetch her?" Bulkhead asked, sounding more than a little disturbed by the thought. Ratchet thought for a moment, suddenly realising everything that he had said had more than one meaning. "Yes." He responded, now emotionless. "If it has happened, then we cannot change it." He said, turning back to the monitors. Bulkhead and Bumblebee stared at the floor again, worried about their charges. I wasn't worried, though. If Jack could make a stand against Airachnid and live, then he could survive time travelling.

"That doesn't mean that we won't be able to fetch them, though." I said, comforting the yellow scout as best as I could. I walked up to him and gripped his shoulders. "Raf is smart enough to make it through anything." I turned to Bulkhead. "Miko is too stubborn to die on you." I said flatly. **"What about Jack?"** Bumblebee asked, and I smiled. "Jack won't disappoint his partner."

* * *

**Next time: Miko has to deal with the inhabitants of Jungle Planet, Jack must deal with the life of an everyday Cybertronian, Raf must try contact Wheeljack and find out what's going on, and Arcee is going to try her hardest to deal with Ratchet and Optimus to get the truth out of them, while trying to convince Ratchet to send her back in time to deal with Megatron before it's too late.**

**The idea for the inhabitants of Jungle Planet meeting Miko was a suggestion from an anonymous reviewer (who I thank sincerely). Thanks to them, with some of my mind's editing skills, I have a few surprises for the Japanese girl who's far away from home.**

**Reviewer's replies (because I promised myself that I'd do it where people can scroll past if they don't want to read them, but I have the satisfaction of knowing that I responded publicly)(If I didn't respond to your review, then it's because I couldn't think of anything to say. That's not a bad thing, just a me thing.) :**

**Lambor Terror Lep: For all three of your reviews, I'm so glad that you liked it. I'm guessing, because of my late response and your other reviews, that you know where the kids went. I hope I didn't disappoint. Here's that next update, and I hope the others can be just as frequent.**

**Mrs Bumblebee (**from chapter 2**): More chapters for you, and I hope that they're good.**

**Transfan **(This was anonymous, if I remember correctly, but there was a name -I think- so...)(Also from chapter 2)**: Your review made me happy, because I was nervous about putting this up. I'm hoping that you enjoyed these offerings of mine, and that I haven't wasted any 'potential'. You made my week with that review (Although, honestly, considering I got _positive_ reviews also made my day there...)**

**Inkcrafter **(from chapter 2)**:**** A.) Loved all of you stories, so the fact that a person who I like likes my story (even remotely) is awesome-tasticness. B.) I hope these wo chapters were good, and that I'm keeping you, and the others, on your toes.**

**Lady Galaxious **(Another from Chapter 2? My first chapters up must have been better than I had felt about them) **: I'm glad you liked it. I was worried about keeping the characters normal. They're probably a little different, but, my excuse, time travel does strange things. I really hope that I'm keeping this story good, and I hope I get another review from you, because you gave me a little courage that I needed for putting up Chapter 3.**

**Foxbear **(Chapter 3!) **: I like keeping people guessing, so I'm glad I shocked you. Little ol' Megsy has a pretty rough life, thanks to my powers of edit! Wheeljack is coming in soon, but not due to the Earth-bound Autobots. Hmm, but, you were close. I did intend to bring him back. Will they ask him? Yes, of course. Will he remember? Well... not quite. (Would you remember _everything_ from your entire past if you were asked such a vague question?)**

**Anonymous BW FG** (The one that confused me the most, because the other one at least had more or less a name. I'd like to have known if you had a username, because I could find that one...) **: I'm glad you liked it. This chapter has a few tie ins with your idea. Sadly, because it was anonymous, I can't thank you any more than by that name here. I've never gone through the 'Exiles' verse, so I can;t answer that question. But, through the powers of Google, I will admit that you gave me a brilliant idea for poor old Miko. I don't think it was quite what you had in mind, but... anyway, they're in the next chapter, and I'll be kind enough to frighten Miko with appearances every now and then. Hmm... she might be a _little_ unstable mentally when I'm done with her... I really did like your idea, though. Miko has a few problems ahead, and they're going to be red and yellow... She's going to have some fun...**

**Richard'sQueen aka LGFS: I'm glad you liked it!**

**That's it for the reviews. If you liked this chapter, and want more, then tell me! I'm also open to suggestions, or complaints! I'll take it into consideration, and state if I used your idea. Preferably, that means put in your ideas with a username, because anyone can be anonymous... like the one idea I got already.**

**If you're curious for other ideas floating in my head (and there are a few of them) that I haven't posted due to cowardice or constant revisions, then check out my profile, which I finished setting up yesterday.**

**Tell me if there are any spelling problems, because they slip past me, even when I check and double check. Sadly, there is a higher being of spelling mistakes, and he likes irritating writers...**

**That's all (I think/hope) for now, folks.**

**JayJayinMay is out.**


	5. Solutions and Relaxations

**Guess who's back... My exams are over, I'm off school for a week, and my computer is (mostly) in one piece. Not to mention, I have internet access for the rest of the weekend... To the gods of FanFiction, and it's numerous judges, I sacrifice Chapter 5! Review responses at the bottom of the page.**

**Note-worthy Note of note-worthiness: Jack, Miko, Raf and the Autobots are in different parts of time. For that reason (and because I said so...), you may notice that: Miko has been on the Jungle Planet for over two weeks (well, she lost count of time, but...), while Raf has only been on the Junk Planet for a few days. For those who are lost, I'm putting the 'local' times at the bottom as well.**

**Second Note of note-worthiness: They might seem a little OOC (out of character for the newer readers (you won't believe how long it took me to work that one out on my own... I suck at acronyms, despite using them when I plan this very story). In my defence, Jack's plot here would have been balanced out by the last chapter's plot if it hadn't been so long, Miko has been alone for two weeks (forever for our Japanese exchange student), Raf is out of his comfort zone, Optimus, Arcee and Ratchet have clashing opinions on this Time Bridge issue, Past-Wheeljack ... well, the past Wheeljack, and this is (and I work on) FanFiction! That said, I try keeping them in character, so tell me if they're deviating a little too much for your liking.**

**On with the story!**

* * *

Chapter 5: Solutions and Relaxations

_Autobot Outpost Omega One; Arcee_

"Wheeljack, we'd really appreciate if you took this seriously." Ratchet growled, looking up at his monitor, where a communication link was running between Wheeljack, Smokescreen and Ratchet. There was a sigh over the line. "I know, Ratch. It's just... these human officials are frustrating. How hard can it be to build one military base? They make it sound like their 'rocket science'." Wheeljack continued to babble on about the military base in Pennsylvania, where the two newest additions to our team were currently assisting with its construction. "Remind me again why went sent those two." I asked, looking in the direction of our Prime, who had been avoiding this room like a virus ever since the 'incident'. He glanced in my direction.

"They need to adjust to working with humans. The two of them are showing little respect for the need to hide on this planet, and it may pose a threat to our security. I thought that perhaps it would be beneficial for them to assist with that new air base Fowler kept talking about." He looked back at the screen, where Ratchet and Wheeljack were arguing about the importance of the construction of the base vs. finding the kids. Strangely enough, Ratchet was in strong favour of _both_ missions, while Wheeljack couldn't seem to care less. Smokescreen, on the other hand, had been concerned from the beginning, if only because he had spent a lot of time with Jack since he had arrived on Earth.

"I can't think of anything off the top of my head." Smokescreen said, disturbing the argument between the medic and the Wrecker. "Although, I do remember that story about that giant organic who almost killed Megatron at the beginning of the war..." "For the millionth time, there was no killer giant organic on Cybertron!" Ratchet yelled, waving a wrench at the screen despite the fact that the wrench wouldn't be able to hurt either mech. "I'm just saying; that's the only mention of organics out of the norm I've heard of before here." Ratchet sighed, and put the wrench down, leaning over the controls in defeat. "If you can think of any mention, however vague or by word of mouth, just tell us. Ratchet out." With that said, he pressed a button and the link between the mechs was severed. Ratchet straightened up and looked at Optimus.

"Wheeljack says he saw plenty of organics during his Wrecker days, and when he was exploring the galaxies, but he'll try anyway, and Smokescreen... is an idiot." I held back a chuckle at the last part. "Smokescreen only heard the same stories that we heard. You said it yourself; no one knows what happened there that day except for Optimus here." I looked at said mech with as much intensity as I could muster. If there were a chance that it was the kids, then I'd try my best to squeeze it out of him. The Prime glanced at me, before shaking his head and turning to Ratchet.

"I was alone in the canyon that day with Megatron. The rumours of an organic trying to kill him, or even being there, are false." The mech replied calmly. Ratchet nodded, with an 'I told you so' look on his faceplates. "What is the progress on recreating the Space-Time Bridge?" He said, the question aimed at the medic. Ratchet just shrugged, his optics trained on the monitors still. "It's hard to say exactly. The formulae are too unpredictable for an accurate guess at the right coordinates. Starscream has been offering me his notes on how he managed to get back." Optimus nodded and started to walk away. Just as he was about to leave the room, he turned around.

"Will we require a Space Bridge to retrieve them?" He asked. Ratchet paused from his typing and reading. The room was silent for minutes as the medic did some calculations in his head. "I don't know." He sighed, and glanced at our Ground Bridge, which was powered down. "If I am correct, then the instability of the vortex should pull items and people through without hassle, despite any distance." The medic looked back at his screens for confirmation. "However, a Space Bridge would make more sense, and I have a feeling it would make a safer breach to traverse." Optimus nodded, before disappearing into the deeper levels of the base. I turned to the medic.

"How would we get a Space Bridge anyway? It's not like we'll just wait until we know where all three of them are, right?" Ratchet shook his head, still not looking in my direction. "We might be able to improve our Ground Bridge enough to make a temporary Space Bridge. Mike referred to it as 'souping up the Ground Bridge', I believe." I nodded, before walking into the depths of the base. The 'Cons had been silent lately, and there was no progress with the Time Bridge. I needed something to blow up. Preferably, something that'll make me feel better.

_Junk Planet; Rafael_

**"We need to work on a translator for the little one." **Wheeljack said, interrupting a boring conversation between the medic and the familiar mech. The two of them turned to him, and nodded. **"How, exactly, do you intend to translate an unknown language into Cybertronian... in the middle of a battlefield."** The medic said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Wheeljack just shrugged. **"Well, do you have any ideas on how to send him home if we don't know where it is? I'm willing to listen."** Familiar mech stepped between the two of them. **"Jackie, calm down. He's right, though. You'd have to go through our entire language, and his, and then build a translator his size. It'll take forever."**

**"How would you like it if you could understand every word being said, but couldn't be understood back? He must be the most frustrated organic this side of the universe. Besides, if he's from a new species, then we can establish some good first ties. If he's from a species we've met before, than we can strengthen ties."** The medic scoffed. **"If the Decepticons killed off his species, and he was the last survivor, taken as a pet, then we get to traumatize the poor thing."** "Hello, I'm right here! I can understand you, you know!" I yelled up at them. They'd fight all day if someone didn't intervene, my family had taught me that much. The three mechs turned to face me, and I was reminded of the 'small, insignificant speck' feeling again.

**"See, that's why we need the translator! If we can understand his language, then we can help him get back to his home, or find a new one if need be."** Wheeljack said. The medic sighed. **"Speak with the big boss. If he approves, then I'll help ****_in my spare time._**** I have enough work here with repairing you fraggers that I don't want to stress about one organic."** Wheeljack sighed, but nodded, and turned to familiar mech. **"He'll want to see you as well. You were there when we found him."** The familiar mech sighed. **"Fine... Just don't make me clean up after him."** With that said, Wheeljack lowered an up facing palm down on the table near me. I climbed on, and grasped onto his thumb as he lifted me up into the air.

He started walking, with me in hand and familiar mech by his side. The two of them remained fairly silent as they walked out of the medical bay and through the empty corridors of the base. I could hear the gunshots and explosions of the battle in the distance. In the back of my mind, I wondered where I was, exactly. Wheeljack was supposed to be on Earth, the last I had heard. Then again, I hadn't seen his ship since he took Miko out for some revenge. I wouldn't put it past him to have snuck off the planet to find more Wreckers. Maybe, I figured, that's where I was: a battle on some distant planet, with Wheeljack helping out his fellow Wreckers. It would make sense, although surely he'd remember me, or at least English.

The two mechs stopped outside a door, and pressed a button. A few seconds passed before the door opened, and they went inside. A mech was standing behind what I could only describe as a holographic 3D model of the planet we were on right now. I noticed several large holes on the map, and a part of me somehow knew that they hadn't been there before this battle started. There was a mech standing in the shadows behind it. All I could see of him was an outline, a generic grey servo, which was being used to manipulate the map/hologram thing, and blue optics, which were trained on the three of us. The servo disappeared into the darkness with the rest of the mech as he inspected us.

**"I'm guessing this is the organic you two found out there on the battlefield."** The mech said. The voice was deep, and commanded authority, but it couldn't measure up to Optimus' natural authority. This was a guy who had learned the hard way. Above me, the mechs nodded in confirmation. **"Some strange Decepticon drone was taking care of him by itself. We destroyed its bunker, but managed to dig out this guy after we heard noises."** The familiar mech said. The outline bobbed its head up and down. **"I will inspect that frame later. Seaspray brought it in for me. He confirms that it is of a new design."** Wheeljack nodded absently, his thoughts somewhere else.

**"What do we know about the organic?"** The outlined leader asked, his servo peeping out of the shadows to gesture at me. Familiar mech just shrugged while Wheeljack nodded. **"He understands Cybertronian, but is unable to speak it. His species and language is unlike any we have encountered before. He seems to be healthy, and was more or less unharmed when the bunker collapsed. We have samples of the food he eats to sustain him if we need to."** The leader nodded, and he waved his hand for Wheeljack to go on. **"Based on the medical scans, we have deduced that his skin is not very resistant to attack or injury, and acids or alkalis of weaker levels are already dangerous in large quantities. Those devices over his optics appear to enhance his vision, which the scans indicated is very weak."** I wiped at my glasses at that, trying to clear them off a bit.

The leader nodded slowly. **"You have something you want to say, Wheeljack."** Said mech nodded. **"Springer, I want to start working on a translator device for him. If we can translate what he says, then we can find a way to get him home."** The leader was silent for a minute, probably considering everything. The head bobbed up and down slowly. **"You may do so, so long as you remember I'm still sending you on those demolition missions. If it doesn't disrupt that, then you may."** With that said, the leader, Springer, waved us off, and the two mechs walked out of the room. I glanced back at the room, and saw the servo reach out and wipe at the map, just before the door closed. My handler walked through the corridors, this time with purpose in his steps.

_Cybertron; Jack_

Arcee had this thing of constantly talking about Cybertron's 'Golden Age'. When I'd asked, she said it was pretty much the time when Cybertron was war free. It was a time of development, and breakthroughs across the scientific communities. It was the time when they had developed devices beyond human comprehension. It was when the Iacon relics hadn't been hidden, but rather displayed. It was before the war, when Bulkhead worked in the demolition team known as 'the Wreckers', when Bumblebee was a small little youngling running around the Crystal Parks of Iacon. Ratchet had been but a medical official in the lower classes, where he developed cheaper methods of medical maintenance. Arcee had spent all her free time with a mech she had liked more than a friend (who eventually became her first partner). Optimus had worked in the Hall of Records, which Fowler had likened to Optimus having been a librarian.

My first time on Cybertron hadn't done it justice. Mind you, war-ravaged ruins of a formerly flourishing civilisation weren't that good things to judge a species by. No, Cybertron should have been judged by what I could see now. Buildings tapered into the skies above, where seeker jets flew in a peaceful acrobatic harmony. Mechs and femmes of all different shapes and sizes walked the streets, and vehicles unlike any I'd ever even thought of drove down the roads at speeds that made Earth look slow. It was probably one of the most amazing things I'd ever seen in my life, and I wish I could just stare at it all day.

Of course, I couldn't, because the mech carrying me had other plans. I was held in a tight grip, close to his chest and slightly out of sight. He was walking way too fast for me to truly appreciate the sights and sounds. Instead, I dealt with blurs of buildings, and mechs with the oddest shapes and designs. Arcee had mentioned that there had been a time before they all wore armour and guarded themselves, and I guess I got to see it with my own eyes. Well, I got to see the blurs with my own eyes. I wasn't going to complain, though. Even if I could escape this mech's grip, I'd just fall to the ground and land painfully. There, I'd either be caught again, or stood on, or ignored and be left in the gutters, where I'd die painfully of starvation. Not that I wanted to try get out anyway; I somehow knew that this mech didn't mean me any harm.

We passed through a large set of doors into a colder building. Unlike outside, it was silent, apart from the noise of buttons being pressed, and what I assumed was typing on what looked like Cybertronian computers. The mech waved in greeting to a few of the mechs in the terminals, but didn't stop to chat with any of them. He entered a small (to him) metal room, and pressed a button. The doors closed, and my stomach jolted as the ground started moving upwards. An elevator, I guessed. My suspicions were confirmed when the doors opened again, and a completely different corridor greeted us. There were still those odd, U-shaped terminals with mechs and femmes working at them, but this time there was no waving or chitchat. My mech walked through a door at the end of the corridor, and sat down by his own private terminal. I was placed on the side of the terminal, where I'd seen a lot of the other mechs resting their arms, and the mech started up the console. In a matter of seconds, he was already typing away faster than something his size should be able to, and pictures and unfamiliar symbols danced over the screen.

There was no way I could even begin to follow the speed of the flow of information, nor could I understand the words flashing across the screen, so I sat down on the outer edge of the terminal. The far wall of the small office was a glass window, and I watched the seeker jets fly their way through the way across the Cybertronian skies. I figured this mech must be pretty good at his job if he got a room with this great a view of the city. I could see the edges of the city, and the outline of other cities in the distance. There was no way Earth could even hope to compare with Cybertronian architecture. Briefly, I wondered how the bots back on Earth were dealing with my disappearance. Briefly, I wondered where Miko and Raf, or even Starscream, were. They'd been in the Space Bridge with me. I wasn't worried about them, though.

It wasn't that I hadn't tried to find Miko, or Raf, in this alien environment, but I'd discovered nothing, and it was too dangerous to continuously walk the streets without a guide of some kind. Besides, I'd found no evidence of them being in the area at all. Miko would have caused the loudest commotion possible with all these mechs and femmes of questionable intentions walking around, while Raf would have found a safe place to wait for either of us. No, it was more than likely that they'd been dropped off elsewhere, and, while I was still thinking about them, I couldn't help them, and both of them could take care of themselves. Unless Raf lost his glasses, he wasn't going down for the count, and Miko was too stubborn to die. No, wherever and whenever they were, I couldn't help them, so I had to think about my own survival first.

I'd figured it out after day three. It was a bit obvious, if you asked me. The first time I had been prepped to go through a Space Bridge, Ratchet had warned me about what could happen if something went wrong with it. His exact words were "If we are unable to maintain the bridge while you are heading to or from Cybertron, the odds are it'll explode. If that happens, who knows what would happen to you. Space Bridges warp the fabric of space and time itself. You might land up on your moon, or another planet. You might land up in the middle of your 'World War 1'. You might not land up at all!" He had been smart enough not to say all of this in front of Mom, though. She'd never have let me go through otherwise.

So, I'd figured out soon enough that I was the first human time traveller. _One_ of the first human time travellers, I reminded myself. Some_when_ out there, Miko and Raf were probably having the time of their lives. Maybe Miko got to spend some time with the Bulkhead of the past. She'd enjoy that. Raf would probably have loved to see the future of Earth, or even Cybertron's Golden Age, like me. The kid would have done anything to get his hands on new tech to study and help the bots with. I sighed, and leaned back on the terminal surface. Somehow, though, I don't think they'd land up in any of those places. The thought that plagued me the most was that they'd landed somewhere without breathable air, or with too strong gravity, or a careless, unknowing mech had walked over them. I couldn't help them, but I couldn't help but worry about them either. It just wasn't actively at the top of my mind, which was the case more often than not on Earth when Miko snuck through the Ground Bridge, or we needed to help the bots somehow. No, here on Cybertron, I could relax slightly.

My stomach grumbled loudly, gaining the attention of my mech. He made several loud clicks and whirrs, which I had figured was Cybertronian, but beyond that was lost. I rubbed my stomach to try and sooth the pains of hunger. I could relax when I found food. After I had a full stomach, I could try and find a way to the top of one of these spires of the city, and I could watch the seekers fly past, doing all their crazy stunts. The thought relaxed me, and I leaned back on the terminal to rest. When the mech was done with his work, he'd wake me. I knew that much. So, without any hesitation, I drifted off into a comfortable nap.

_Jungle Planet; Miko_

"Let me out of here!" The cry for help was lost in the vastness of the cave network I was stuck in, but it bounced off of the walls and carried on long after I had stopped. No one had come to help me, not that I had actually expected it. Those strange noises had been the only other people in the jungle to date, so having Jack, or Raf, or Fowler, or Mrs Darby, or Bulkhead, or Arcee, or Bumblebee, or Optimus... They weren't on this useless piece of rock and plants. If they were here, then they would have found me, and I'd be on her way home. So there was no chance of them coming to my rescue right that very instant, or the two days of instances before, ever since I'd fallen into the net. If I was lucky, then maybe I'd die of boredom before I starved to death. So far, the dying of boredom part was too true for my liking.

"Is anyone out there?" However, just because no one I knew was out there, didn't mean that someone out there would help me. Maybe whoever or whatever had made those noises would let me out, and I could be on her merry way. Maybe my rescuer and I could become the best of friends, and we could share secrets, and party, and pull pranks on Ratchet. He'd throw wrenches at the two of us, and yell until the walls of the base shook. We'd apologise, but we would snigger behind his back when he couldn't hear us...

I shook my head. The hunger and lack of people was starting to get to my head. I was worried I was going mad, but Mrs Darby's voice of reason was filling my head. "If you have doubts about your sanity, then you clearly must be sane, because no mad person would think that they're odd. They'd either know, or not know. There's no room in their heads for doubt." I smiled, and laughed. The laughed echoed off of the walls, too, and I was surrounded by a symphony of off-key laughs, which only caused another volley of laughter. No, I didn't doubt my sanity any more. A large portion of my mind had already come to the conclusion that I was indeed insane, and should act accordingly.

"Miko, you can't go any madder than days when I met you." Jack's voice said, coming from the caves. "So, you can't go mad. _You_ can only get _sane_." There was more laughter in the caves. Jack had said that after we had nearly been killed in Raf's house. I had asked him if there was a chance I had gone mad, and that everything, the Autobots, the Decepticons, Fowler, Unicron, were all just figments of my imagination. Jack and Raf had been in school since my transfer, so I couldn't have made them up. Those had been his words, and I was surprised I could still remember them. It was odd how they still applied, so many weeks, months, years later. I shook my head again, trying to clear it. I'd lost count of how long I'd been stuck in this forest, but I knew perfectly well how long I'd been in this hole. Above me, the moon taunted me for the third night in a row.

The ghosts of my friends back at home, in Jasper, had been haunting me since the end of night one. They'd been helpful at first, suggesting various methods of trying to escape. When those had failed, they'd started mocking and ridiculing me. That had largely made up day two. Now, they had decided to change tactics again, and make me question my sanity. Questioning was good, though. Like Mrs Darby and my mind's Mrs Darby had said, if I questioned it, then clearly I was sane. We'd read a book about it in school. I hadn't paid much attention to it or the teacher, but it was something about catching 22 of something. I shook my head once again. No, that wasn't it. It'd come to me. Maybe my mind's Jack or Raf would tell me. There was no doubt that the two had probably mentioned the book before, and my mind had so far only recycled memories of them all.

A crashing noise shook me from my thoughts, and the voices in my head were silent. This was something new, and it was most definitely not a product of my mind. I turned around to try and see what had caused the noise, but the darkness of the tunnel consumed any light that would have given me the answer. A rumbling noise filled the air, soon followed by the noises that had attracted me here in the first place. They had not been silent all these nights, but they hadn't been this close before. Maybe I'd finally get to see who or what was causing those noises with my own eyes. The voices in my head were muttering something, but it was too soft for me to catch it. Maybe, I mused, whatever was in the cave would scare the voices away. That would be a welcome relief.

There was another crashing noise, followed by the sound of metal sliding against metal, and gears turning. That last sound was one that I could never forget, and my smile grew wider each time I heard the sound repeat, each slightly different but all six carrying the same basic tone. Somewhere, deep within the caves, were six bots. There was nothing else in the universe that could mimic that noise. The familiar musical tones of Cybertronian speaking echoed through the walls to me, and I rejoiced in the fact. Cybertronians _are_ capable of space flight technology, and they could speak English, or at least learn it. I watched that branch of the cave with interest, waiting to see my saviours.

The sounds grew louder, although the echoes distorted them slightly, and threw me off. Occasionally, they would fade into nothing but silence, but they had always come back, coming closer than the last time. Their footsteps bounced off the walls loudly, and I knew that they were close. "I'm over here!" I yelled, just so that they knew I was indeed here. They could help me get home, the voices in my head reasoned... well, all the voices except for Jack, who was arguing that this could be extremely dangerous. I ignored him as I did his real world counterpart, and watched the tunnel, waiting to see the familiar contours of Cybertronians in the shadows. My patience would be rewarded, and I knew it.

Soon enough, several pairs of optics broke the darkness of the caves, and I smiled as they looked in my direction.

_Jasper, Nevada; Arcee_

"Mrs Darby, are you sure you do not want me to stay for the night?" I asked for the eleventh time, but the raven-haired woman in hospital scrubs shook her head. "Arcee, you've been so busy lately; you deserve to rest wherever you want to. If you want to stay here, you can, but you don't have any obligation to." I vented heavily, before pulling into her open garage. She smiled softly in my direction as she closed the door. When I was satisfied that it was indeed closed, I transformed, and crouched down in front of her. "You haven't been past the base in a long time. We're worried about how you're coping with this." I waved my hand around to indicate that this was in fact everything. Her shoulders drooped, and her smile faltered, but there was still a hint of something fiery in her eyes.

"I know that Ratchet and Optimus are doing their best to make sure Jack gets home safely. They're making sure _all three of them_ are going to be here, as if they had never left. Until then, I can only wait. There's not much else I can do." I noticed that she didn't seem too pleased by the last part. "Still," I argued, "You could use the company, and we wouldn't mind a fresh face. Fowler calls in, but we haven't seen anyone except ourselves since the day we told you." Mrs Darby looked up, and the fire in her eyes grew. It wasn't rage, or anger; I couldn't quite place the emotion...

"Arcee, I'd love to. I have Saturday off. I'll drive past then, and just spend some time with the bunch of you. Heaven knows you're all just as worried about them as I am." The fire in her eyes flickers, wavered, slightly, before it grew stronger. I smiled at the woman. "Optimus hasn't been out of his personal quarters much lately, at least as far as I've noticed. He only answers questions, and he seems to dodge certain topics. Maybe you can break him out of his shell." And, I thought, maybe you can convince Ratchet to help me go back in time and kill Megatron. I wasn't going to lose this opportunity. Mrs Darby, oblivious to my thoughts, nodded absently. "I'll do my best. Who knows, maybe he'll have good news for us all." I nodded, but my mind was still plotting. I needed to work out when we were going to kill him...

"Hey, Arcee, do you want to see something?" June said, disrupting my train of thought. I shrugged, not quite sure how to answer. She nodded to herself before walking into the house through the side door in the garage. I watched it as I waited for her return. Curiosity about what she wished to talk about was stunting the formation of my ultimate 'prevent the war' plans, but I didn't mind. We had all the time in the world, theoretically. I just need to convince Ratchet to let us make use of it. Mrs Darby walked back into the room, carrying a thick book under her arms. I looked at it carefully, but saw no markers identifying its origins.

"I thought you might like to see some pictures of Jack when he was little." She said, opening the book up and holding it up to my optics. Sure enough, the front page was a picture of a newborn child, staring into the camera with the eyes that carried an innocence Jack had somehow lost over the years. I smiled at it. It was... calmly, to see a face untouched by war, even if the person today was no longer like that, or even with us. He'd kill his mother when he gets back and finds out that I saw all these pictures. I decided to put my plans to one side; they could wait. Instead, I sat down next to June, and she leaned against me, paging through the book. I could welcome the distraction. Maybe this was what I needed to clear my head and relax a bit.

"This is the first time he climbed a tree. He was so happy that day. His father had been trying to teach him for so long, but he'd never quite gotten it right..."

* * *

**Hopefully, I can get Chapter 6 up tomorrow, or later for my non-local readers. Hmm, I'm hoping that this was a good enough chapter (they just don't feel right, for some reason, but I can't think of anything I can improve right now). Raf is going to get lost in translation, Jack is enjoying the more relaxing parts of Cybertron (he feels OOC again, but I can't get it out any other way, drat!). Miko is hearing voices in her head, and she's discovered she's not alone... Arcee is still plotting temporal domination, but she's calmed down. Wheeljack has made his appearance in the present, along with Smokescreen (because I want them there for later in the story, and, yes, they've been on Earth the whole time...)**

**Jack knew the whole time! Well, after three days, at least. It made sense to me that Ratchet would warn Jack of the dangers of Space Bridges in the Orion Pax episodes (I'm thinking of the episode with the DNGS in particular... XD organic metal burn...).**

**Local Times for our lost heroes are as follows.**

_**Earth, Present Day (The Autobots, Mrs Darby, Fowler)**_

**It's been just over a month, by now. It doesn't seem like it, but they have been focusing on the Time Bridge the whole time. It's actually up to your interpretation, but I'd put it between two to five weeks for them. Any longer and Mrs Darby wouldn't been like that, and Smokescreen and Present-Day Wheeljack would be home again.**

**_Jungle Planet, When Unknown (Miko and the mysterious mechs on the planet)_**

**__****She's been here for at least two weeks now, but, with nothing to do and nothing occupying her time, she's actually forgotten how long she's been on the planet. It's been two whole days since she fell in the net. The next chapter will continue on after the end of this.**

**_Junk Planet, Wreckers vs Decepticon battle, before Earth (Raf, the Wreckers, the currently deceased Earth Vehicon)_**

**__****He's been calling there home for about nine, ten days to two weeks. This chapter is arguably a few hours after the last one, and not much has happened in between. Familiar mech hasn't said his name yet (I'm evil, he's not), and Wheeljack is planning a translator. If he lives up to his G1 name, then he might want to throw it at the Decepticons before giving it to Raf... The next chapter is interpretable in time, so I'll say again then.**

**_Cybertron, before the War started (Jack, Mystery Mech, a few others who have yet to make an appearance (in the past, that is))_**

**__****Jack, strangely enough, has only been on Cybertron for nine days, making him the one who's experienced the least time lag of them all. Keep in mind, of course, that Cybertronian days and Earth days aren't the same length, and that, to the present day, he's still been gone for about a month. The next chapter, like the last, will continue from here. Jackie-boy has to experience the fun of *Classified* thanks to the wonderful talents of *Still Classified*.**

**Now, I think it's time to answer my reviewers. As I ask and plead, if I forgot to answer your review, then I apologise. I'm only human, and my computer is still only non-sentient (although it gets mood swings, which makes me wonder...). If you review anonymously, please give a name to respond by. I'll still say it's anonymous (because I was brought up where lying isn't uncommon), but at least you know that it's you, and I feel satisfied.**

**Anonymous BW FG (Guest) **(For both of your Chapter 4 reviews)**: Ah, Back to the Future... That was one of the good movies... I'm glad someone saw the reference, even though, when I wrote it, I hadn't put it there on purpose. I was just checking it, and I was like 'Oh, you sound like Doc Brown', and then I realised, 'Hey, I wrote this!'. That was the oddest unintended reference I've made so far (that I've noticed).**

**I don't mind that you're a guest reviewer, and I understand the 'parents' thing. I have my own set (well, only one, but she's been as good as two. Jack and I have that in common...).**

**I hope you like how I'm treating Miko, and our mystery guests, who I hope you know who they are. May my story continue to be good, just so I can see your name on my reviewer's alert list again. It makes me smile a little inside.**

**Lady Galaxious: I do apologise if I responded to this before (I can't remember doing so, but I've got deja vu with reading it...). Pace, pace, pace, I am worrying about pace. Details are important, but story is important, and I hate when one is too detailed and the other not enough (although I can live if it's a canon character, since you sort of know what they'd look like). So, being told I got the pace okay... I'm in heaven...Thanks for the careful eye for errors, I don't see any either, but I keep hitting the semi-colon key instead of the apostrophe...**

**What do you mean you know what's going on with my Megatron side story! There's nothing going on with my Megatron side story... Who am I kidding... I'm interested to hear your theory, but I'd like to think that you're wrong. I'd tell you if you're close, though, if you really want to know.**

**Richard'sQueen aka LGFS: I'm glad I'm cool, although it's summer here, so I kind of need it. Yes, you're right about a few things. Miko isn't going to get a break, and Raf isn't going to have any luck getting to have a nice chat with Wheeljack. And it's ironic that you compared Jack to a dog, because in my next chapter I'm *JayJayinMay has once again attempted to spoil the plot*. Sorry, I'm being censored. You'll just have to see. ;)**

**Fletcher-inator **(Mrs Ferb Fletcher-inator) (I know you gave a name, but I'm just scared someone impersonates a real user, and then I get in trouble for responding to the fake as if they were the real...) (For both your reviews)**: A fan from chapter 1! Joy, because I'm getting more fans! Yeah, it was a video chat (they're advanced robots from another planet, I don't think they'd settle for texting each other). Yeah, they Ground Bridged on the Nemesis (Ratchet followed the signal of the chat you mentioned...). It was my little homage to G1, where the Decepticon base seemed to always be attacked, and/or their plans foiled.**

**Poor Ratch does miss his three little 'squishies'. Not that he'd tell anyone that. He likes the silence, I promise. He'd just like it more if Miko or Raf or Jack was there to ruin it. Now, he wouldn't mind if Starscream got stuck in the past, though. He'd enjoy ****_that_**** silence.**

**Rose Jennison **(for both of the reviews)**: Thanks for the compliment. The stories aren't as separate as they might appear... They all tie in to the present (the past tends to do that...), and Jack, seeing as he's before the war, sort of ties in with the others too. There's plenty of room for changing the future, past, present, here, and I'm taking advantage of it. **

**I know Miko calmed down a lot in season two (well, at least on screen. I wonder every now and then if they just pushed her sneaking aside for Smokescreen, the Iacon relics and all that.), but I need them all there. Otherwise, Jack wouldn't know he's in the past right now, and I needed Smokescreen and Wheeljack on Earth. Well, maybe not Smokescreen, but I'd prefer him there. There's also an important detail of Season 2 that I need to finish off the story, but I won't use it for a while, yet. (My mind's little map keeps saying Chapter 15, but I haven't gotten that far yet, so bare with me in that respect.)**

**I admit, I struggle to keep Jack in character. The problem is that the last chapter for him was completely filler. This chapter's Jack plot would have been mixed with the last, which I imagine would have balanced the two out (this one seems to make Jack too... carefree and happy for my liking), however, Jack makes up a third of this chapter's bulk (pre-Author's Notes). Sorry about the OOC-ness, though. I just couldn't let Jack jump from Ch 3 to where he is now without it; it made me feel like I was going too fast. Maybe it was just me. I still struggle with him, but he should balance out now that he's experienced a working day. Well, the beginning of it, at least.**

**As for my pacing, thanks. I worry about it. Like I said, I'm trying to slow it down (there's a part of my head that's daring me to finish this all in ten chapters! I thought that that was a little bit too fast), especially with Jack and Miko (Raf is a nice boy; he doesn't give me too much trouble). As for the numerous plots thing (I'll try not to be vain here) it's not too hard for me. I think my trick is that I know that the three plots tie together quite closely. They're travelling through time, so they 'meet' at some point (the present, to be precise). Jack also has the benefit of being the furthest back in time of the three, since he was the only one to land up before the war, so he links there as well. They're not as separate as they seem for now, but thanks for the compliment. My ego grew thanks to you.**

**chocolate bullet (Guest)**(Chapter 1)**: You didn't review or comment on the rest of the story, so I hope I didn't lose you! I'm glad you liked chapter 1, though. Maybe the promise hasn't been lost...**

**Blind Sniper (Guest): Foreshadowing with Megatron? Well, this 'super cool fic' (:D Happy Smiling Dance around the PC inserted here) might be a little... foreshadowed. If you look carefully, I've hinted at a lot of things. Yes, I've got a plan for Megatron and his assassination. If you want, you can send your ideas about it past me, and I'll tell you if you're right. Like I said to another person though, I don't think you'll get it completely right. I was still juggling exactly what I was going to do with him when I wrote that little part. It's still important at the end though, but I won't say for who though.**

**As for the Miko thing, you actually guessed a part of Miko's major story line. I'm not sure if I'm proud that someone saw my reference with her music skills and the vines, or upset for the same reason... Yes, someone hears her music. It won't be the first time for them (I can't imagine Cybertron or their colonies without the arts, because we have mechs like Sunstreaker (who I see as an artist), or Jazz (I imagine the name translates from a music style on Cybertron)), but they'll definitely hear it. In fact, it's *Ignore the censorship. He's trying to give away major plot spoilers again.*... Sorry, I can't reveal too much. Miko will definitely be the Pied Piper, though. Just not quite yet. I hope this update keeps you entertained.**

**Americaiuno (Guest): The Dinobots is a good idea, actually, but I don't know if I can use it yet. I'm considering making a sequel to this, if I finish it with a fair amount of followers remaining. Yeah, it would be hilarious to bring them in, though. I think the games put them on Cybertron, and I think the Prime-verse and games are tied together somehow? I'll see what I can do, even if it is only in the possible sequel. I'll check with my muse... He says *Sorry, but this might just give away the plot, and Jay's fingers cannot allow that at this point in time*. I hate spoilers.**

**general zargon: You owe me a virtual cookie. No, Jack's mech isn't Optimus. That being said, Jack is at the Hall of Records quite often in the story, so they will meet at some point. (It's actually a big point in the story for Jack, and I won't give any more spoilers). So, I want that cookie :). As for the inhabitants of Jungle Planet, well... you can wait to find out. One of my reviewers suggested it if you really must know, but I hope to have the next chapter up tomorrow, so you might see then ;). I hope this meagre chappie is as good as the last (and I want my cookie...)**

**thunder angel13: Your wish is my command. I present you with Chapter 5 (insert angelic choir here)! I hope you like it!**

**Icestarcristal (You sent me a PM, and I thought it would be best to respond here, although I was tempted to fully answer in my own PM): I hope this chapter is as good as the others. I couldn't get internet, so I had trouble posting. I have for most of the week now, and I'm hoping to at least get Chapter 7 or 8 up by next Sunday, but we'll see. I'm glad you liked it.**

**That's it for my reviews (wow, I didn't think my story would be this popular. Would you believe I actually had so many doubts about this story?). Forgive me if I missed you, but I think I got everyone.**

**Thank you to all the people who added this to their favourites and follows list (and the people who added me to that list) and those who just look out for it on the site! Review if you have any ideas about the story, or suggestions, or because you liked it! I don't mind guest reviews, or even PMs if you feel you don't want to spoil anyone's story experience. While I don't mind constructive criticism, I ask that you don't crush my heart and soul with your fingers. Be gentle, please, and live by the infamous saying "If you don't like, then don't read."**

**I didn't see any errors in spelling, but tell me if you find any! I dislike those evil little commas and vowels who sneak into my story and ruin the experience, and I'll sic Ironhide on them if I find any...**

**Review, follow, favourite, pm! Enjoy, and until next time (which may be sooner than you think!)**

**JayJayinMay, signing out. **


	6. Creatures of Comfort

**Guess who's back?**

**Sorry for the delay, dear readers. Life reared it's head, and my list of actual excuses is probably longer than the total dialogue for all the episodes of all the series of Transformers combined. A brief explanation is in the bottom author's notes for those who want to know why I took so long before they murder me for posting this so late.**

**No answers to your reviews this time (I didn't have the time, sorry guys!). Thanks to all those who did, especially the guy(s?) who kept badgering me to post. You probably sped me up more than any of us will ever realise.**

**On with the story!**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Creatures of Comfort**

_Outskirts of Jasper, Nevada; Arcee_

_**"Okay, how about that story of the organic who visited the Autobots at the beginning of the war, when the first Autobots were still trying to get off of Cybertron on the Ark?"**_ Bulkhead offered. There was a pause over the comm. lines as we drove down the long street between the base and Jasper. _**"It's unlikely. Optimus was there then, so he'd have known about that organic if it was true."**_ I said. Bumblebee sounded thoughtful when he responded. _**"I can't remember much from then... I was out for the count for most of the time, and I had a few processor issues with accessing or creating memories files, according to most of the medics."**_ I sighed over the line in frustration; we were going over possibilities of where's and when's that the kids could have gone to.

_**"There was that organic that swam to shore every third cycle on that one planet in the Nova Galaxy."**_Bumblebee offered, after another moment of silence. _**"Nope, can't be any of them. They'd have to of had someplace to rest between those three cycles."**_ Bulkhead replied. He paused for a moment, his engine calming slightly. _**"Besides, I remember that galaxy. None of the planets had any oxygen. Humans couldn't stay there without protective gear."**_ That was one of my bigger fears. We didn't know where or when they went, that was true, but we'd eventually find out. The problem was whether or not they'd landed somewhere inhabitable for humans. Oxygen, food, water, suitable gravity levels, toxin-free... the list just went on, and that narrowed the number of places they could have gone down by a lot.

I thought for a moment. _**"I heard rumours of an organic that could summon Energon blasts to appear out of nowhere when threatened."**_ There was a laugh over the line. _**"I don't think Jack, Miko or Raf have ever done that."**_ Bumblebee said humorously. Bulkhead sent an impression of a smile over the line. _**"I heard the same story, straight from the source. Sideswipe and his brother started that one, after they 'got attacked' on one of the forest planets near Cybertron. Ratchet did the repairs on them, and the shots were Cybertronian in nature. He says it was just a bunch of neutrals that they frightened while they tormented one of the small creatures that ran around there."**_ I frowned slightly. He was right, of course. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe _had_ started that story, and they had a tendency to exaggerate whenever something damaged their paintjobs.

_**"The humans have that story of 'the man on the moon'."**_ Bumblebee said, and all three of us slowed down at that. We'd never considered anywhere within this region of space, and had immediately started searching further out. _**"Ratchet, can you hear us?"**_ I asked. This might be worth investigating, after all. The sound of grumbling over the line confirmed his presence. _**"The humans have a tale of a man on their moon."**_ I offered to the medic. The line went quiet as he processed the information. _**"I'll perform a scan now. If there's something foreign to its surface, then I'll pick it up. There would be evidence of their presence, no matter how long ago."**_ He cut the line again, leaving us in the silence of a possible breakthrough in our search.

_**"There was an organic on Cybertron that used to hang around the Hall of Records."**_ Bulkhead offered. Bumblebee sighed in boredom, but I was deep in thought. _**"There are a lot of rumours about organics on Cybertron."**_ I said offhandedly. Maybe one of the kids had actually landed there... _**"Arcee, a whole load of mechs and femmes had organic pets back then. If one of them worked at the Hall of Records, it would be reasonable that they brought their pet every now and then."**_ Bumblebee said firmly. I sighed. He was right; I'd seen the shops selling the organic creatures for pets. None of them were sentient, but they quickly became a popular interest on Cybertron.

The first few buildings of Jasper came into sight, and I pushed the thoughts of pre-war Cybertron out of my head. We needed to find the kids first; this was no time for thinking of Cybertron's Golden Age. The line was silent for a moment, and I figured the others were having similar thoughts. _**"There was a colony on an asteroid in the Alpha Nebula that once reported seeing an organic creature near their power outposts, moments before a Decepticon invasion."**_ Bulkhead offered, and we continued the game of 'rumour and truth'. _**"I doubt they would have allied with the Decepticons, even in desperation, and the Decepticons hate organics anyway."**_ I replied, facing the town of Jasper.

_Jungle Planet; Miko_

The optics moved closer to me, but still stayed within the cloak of the shadows. A part of my mind was screaming that something about this felt off, but there wasn't much I could do about that. I was still stuck in this net, and whoever was in the shadows wasn't, meaning that they could let me out. "Hello, can you let me out?" I asked, enjoying the sound of my voice as it echoed across the walls. The group of optics grew even closer, and I finally noticed how many there were. Six individual optics, divided into groups of two made... three bots. I could handle that. The sound of their footsteps grew louder, and, for a moment, I wondered where they came from.

They finally stepped into the light that was filtering from the hole above me, and I gasped. The bots and cons had all looked relatively... human in appearance, with car parts making up their body. _These_ guys, though, were not bots or cons. Not like any that I'd ever seen, at least. They were still metal, and they sort of looked human, but there were no car parts... I didn't know what they would transform into. The one had a large... curved shoulder plating on his right arm, while another had what looked like a tail. The one with the tail walked up to me, and lowered his face to inspect me through the vine net. I stared back in confusion. These weren't like any bots I'd ever heard of, and Bulkhead had a lot of stories to tell.

The mech stood up straight again, and started chatting to his... friends, I guess. Loud beeps and chirps filled the room, and I covered my ears in pain. "English, dude, English! Or Japanese, I'm not fussy!" I yelled up to him. The mech glanced at me, before returning to his conversation. My head shot up when I heard something familiar. The roar of an animal, tinted with metallic undertones, filled the caves, and the other two mechs voiced similar noises, all with the metal notes in them that most of the bots had in any language. Gears started turning in my head as I realised that these guys had been who I'd been listening to for all those nights, or some of their friends, maybe. "You're the reason I'm stuck in this stupid net! Now let me out of here!" I yelled, and the mech turned to face me again.

Without another word, the bot grabbed the bands of the vines above me, and tore them off. He lifted the now loose net up to his optics, and I tried my hardest to avoid his enraged gaze. Of course, I couldn't, because the stupid net kept turning around, and I landed up staring at him no matter how hard I tried not to. He barked something at me, but the words just flew over my head. That, or he was actually barking. He did sort of look like a dog, now that I thought about it...

I was was distracted from my thoughts of a giant game of catch with a giant robot dog when Fido here jerked the net even closer to his faceplates. Red light covered my entire body as the mech tried to melt me with his optics. I matched his glare with one of my own, though, simply because giant alien fetch was _hilarious_. I wonder if it would work on him...

"Hey!" I yelled out in shock as the mech decided to shake the net. A few of the vines slid free of their knots and managed to whip a few of the more tender parts of my still bruised body. "I'm not a tambourine! Shaking me won't do anything!" The last part was a lie, though. I might have been in this net for longer than I cared to think about with nothing to eat, but my stomach was practically threatening to find something to throw up if he kept tossing me around like that. I tried to cover my miouth with my hands, but every bounce threw them away and flying in another direction.

Mother nature eventually won, and I threw up what little of my supper from so many nights ago. What followed afterwards I could and would only ever be able to describe as a series of fortunate events. Whether it was by timing or luck, I don't know, but most of it managed to slip through the gaps in the constantly moving vines, so I didn't land up being covered in my old food. I watched, as if it were happening in slow motion, as the small projectile made it's way to the source of the violent red light. I heard and saw the small 'splat' that came with impact.

The next thing I knew, Fido's face was getting higher and higher above me, and he seemed to be stumbling backwards, both of his optics shuttered closed. He eventually tripped and fell backwards, landing on top of and knocking over his two friends as he did so. The sound of metal crashing together and loud clicks and whirls filled the air and managed to drown out my screams of terror as my prison headed quickly towards the rocky ground below.

Lady Luck must have been smiling at me and cheering me on, because I landed softly onto the vines beneath me. What had once kept me captive for so long was now my saving grace. Well, a little vomit helped it, but still. I little out a soft grunt though, more out of shock than out of pain. While the vines had been tight and dried, there were still enough of them to cushion my fall.

I quickly gathered my bearings, and began scratching at the netting, trying to claw my way out before the squirming mass of metal nearby managed to untangle itself. My hands soon found the loose end of a vine that had slapped across my inner thigh. I had nearly discarded it and continued with my frantic escape plan, but a small voice of logic (that sounded irritatingly like a certain black-haired teen) quickly chastened me. "That' typical of you Miko! You don't even think about something before you do it! That vine is broken, as in it snapped _and made a gap_. You and I both know you have a brain; use it!"

Despite my irritation at it, not-Jack was right. I tugged at the line, and used it to find and pull myself through a small opening in the net. By now, the moving metal frames had begun to coordinate themselves, and were close to freeing themselves. I quickly made my way down the pile of vines, stumbling every now and then when my feet got caught by some of the vines. I soon found myself on the cave floor, and completely out of ideas. Even the nagging voice of Jack didn't seem to have any suggestions. I turned around in my spot to try and see if there was anything, anywhere, any_way_ I could do or go. I saw it almost immediately.

My eyes looked at the dark and large tunnel that the three mechs had walked out of. It still looked as ominous and foreboding as ever, but I couldn't see any other way out. The vines leading up to the hole I had fallen through were all ripped out, and I doubted that the three mechs wanted to be friends with me and let me out of here while offering me a burger and fries. No, the tunnel was the only way left. Even if it did mean I had to run right past the three mechs that were still caught together like they were playing a giant game of Twister.

"Don't do it Miko! It's too dangerous; you could get yourself killed!" Jack's voice called in my head, repeating words I had heard a million times before when I had been running through the Autobots' Ground Bridges a lifetime ago. A mysterious and potentially deadly cave held nothing compared to spending a few hours stuck in an alternate dimension with a zombie Con and, the worst of all, Jack. No, the cave was safer than all of her adventures. In fact, it was almost too safe for her liking, but, despite what Jack thought, she did have a sense of self preservation.

"Jack, when will you learn that I _live_ for danger," she called out in response to the boy. Without another second's thought, she sprinted towards the opening. To her right, three strange looking mechs finally managed to stand up again, and were looking around for the strange organic they had captured. Two immediately saw the small form dashing across the floor, and both made their attempts to catch it. It was the actions of the third, who still couldn't see out of his right optic, that knocked them over again. Miko just barely managed to dodge the falling metal bodies that fell over almost right on top of her.

She turned her back for one last second as she reached the tunnel entrance. The three mechs were already getting up again, as their friend had almost completely rid his optic of the foreign substance. She gulped, before turning around and running as if her life depended on it into the cave system. And, deep within her mind, she hoped to whoever was looking out for her that there weren't any more of them in the caves.

_Junk Planet; Rafael_

"**So, remind me again why you can't just scan it to get all the measurements you need?"** Familiar mech asked, scratching the side of his helm in confusion. There was an audible venting of compressed air, the Cybertronian equivalent of sighing in frustration, and Wheeljack stood upright, turning to face him. He had spent the last ten minutes trying to measure almost every single angle and length across my body down to the last millimetre. I hadn't minded at first, but after he tried to strip me down for 'more accurate measurements of my frame', I had been forced to swat his hand away. After six more failed attempts to rip my clothes off, he got the hint and just measured me with my clothes on.

"**I can't scan him because every single little organic function of his comes up as an anomaly on my scanners. We don't even know what species he is, never mind what his internal functions are **_**supposed**_** to look like!" **There was another sigh of frustration, this time from the other mech. **"So, you can scan it to see that it is functioning properly, but you can't measure it?"** Another helm scratch, another sigh of frustration from Wheeljack, while I just looked up at the two of them from my spot on the table Wheeljack was standing by. If you asked me right now, I would tell you that these two were seconds away from fighting each other to the death, but, from what Bulkhead had told Miko (who had proceeded to tell everyone else when he was gone) the Wreckers had been the strangest bunch of friends that wanted to murder the others in existence.

"**Medical scans are different! I couldn't tell you if he was sick with any disease, or if that optic weakness of his was common to his species, but some things work above and beyond the boundaries of a single species. The liquid pumping through his body isn't pooling anywhere internally, or leaking out. His gaseous exchange system is working at a 98% efficiency, and what I assume are metabolic processes are happening at what seems to be a stable rate!"** Wheeljack pounded his fist down on the table when he finished, nearly knocking me over with the shockwave that followed. He quickly turned to check that I wasn't injured, before returning to his argument.

"**Fine, fine, I understand that,****but what I **_**don't**_** get is why you persist in calling it a 'he'. You just admitted that your scanners are practically useless."** Wheeljack paused for a moment, thinking about that one. Eventually, he just turned around again to face me, holding up the strange metal rod that he had been measuring me with earlier. He managed to get the length of my arms before Familiar decided to repeat his question. Wheeljack frowned, looking at me intently for a moment, before he continued to measure my arms. **"Does it look like a femme to you?"** he retorted, holding back a chuckle. There was a pause behind him as Familiar processed the question. Eventually, he answered **"No."**

"**Fair enough, it **_**looks**_** like an organic mech, but we've met genderless organics before, and some of those weirder ones that have three genders. How do you know it isn't one of those?"** Familiar continued, after a good minute of silence. Wheeljack barely even thought about this one, continuing with his measuring of my fingers. **"Well, if he was genderless, then he looks like a mech, so he wouldn't be offended, and those multiple gender species sometimes get confused themselves, so they usually understand. He hasn't protested to being called a mech either, so I think we can assume that I am right."** Familiar looked confused for a moment, before a look of understanding washed over him. I figured that he had probably forgotten for a moment that I could understand them, and would have made some sort of noise of protest every time they called me 'she'. I would have, too. Even if they were aliens from a planet where gender was as trivial as the colour of the sky, I am _male_, and intend to be referred to as one.

Wheeljack nodded to himself as he finished off his measuring, before walking to another desk platform, where he started fiddling with a few pieces of metal. **"The translator project is going fine, by the way. I might need a few pieces of scrap wire here and there, and a base for his language, but I think that'll take me... three, four cycles at most,"** Wheeljack commented, lifting up pieces of metal as he spoke. I watched with some interest, but to be honest, all I could see him doing was move his arms, no matter how much I walked up and down the table. Familiar noticed this, but said nothing about it, his attention fixed on Wheeljack.

"**It isn't going to explode when he uses it, right?"** Familiar asked. I stopped in my tracks at that. He couldn't have said what I thought he had just said... Wheeljack shook his head, chuckling softly. **"No, it won't. I'll make sure of that. I'll try and keep any explosions around organics to a minimal this solar cycle."** Familiar laughed as Wheeljack said that, shaking his helm. Relief rushed through me as I realised that had just been a joke, and I managed to cough up a few chuckles too, although they sounded a bit nervous. Both mechs turned to face me.

"**If I had had any doubts he could understand us, I don't know. I don't speak organic, but I know a scared laugh when I hear one. He's a smart organic, that one. He knows that you're dangerous **_**before**_** the explosions."** Wheeljack scowled at Familiar mech at that, but both had a joking look on their faceplates. On the other hand, I slowly backed up to the other side of the table at that comment. Miko might have liked explosions, and practically have begged for one or two, I'd rather keep all four limbs and my head attached to my chest. I happen to like my head in the right place, with all the other bits in one piece.

There was a knocking at the door, before it slid open and another mech walked in. He didn't even look at me as he turned to face the two pair. **"Springer says he needs you two to help check out another bunker. He also wants a few more explosives of yours, Wheeljack."** The mech didn't even wait to see if the two had any comments before running out again, with the door sealing shut behind him. Wheeljack and Familiar just turned to face each other, nodding. Familiar instantly walked to the door, while Wheeljack began searching through a tall pile of objects I couldn't begin to describe in the corner of the room. He managed to gather a few of them before making his way to the door.

"**I don't think he'll need too many, so I just brought five. I never **_**did**_** get this stupid refiner to work..."** He shook one of the gadgets in his hand to make his point, and they started to walk through the door. Familiar looked at me just as Wheeljack was about to close the door, and thrust it back open. **"What about our little friend? We can't just leave him here in your lab, and it's not like we can take him out onto the battlefield again,"** Familiar said, looking at Wheeljack. The two Wreckers stared at each other in silence for a minute, before Wheeljack's optics brightened up with an idea. **"We could always take him to the med bay! He'll be safe there!"**

I wasn't even given a chance to think as Familiar defied the logic of 'big things move slower', grabbing me in his hands and exiting the lab again. Wheeljack nodded at him, before the two went separate ways in the corridor. Familiar looked at me curiously the entire time, loosely gripping me in a crude re-enactment of King Kong, with me as the 'damsel' in distress and him as the giant monkey and... did I just call myself a girl?

My disturbing train of thoughts (involving me wearing a wedding dress and standing next to Miko in a tux) was disrupted by Familiar dropping me onto a table in the room that I knew from when I arrived here was the med bay. The medic looked down at me with a mild curiosity, before turning his attention back to Familiar. **"Let me guess, you need me to watch him while you go and help Wheeljack blow something up?"** Familiar almost looked like a scolded little kid when he nodded, but the medic chuckled and shook his helm. **"That's fine with me. He won't be bothering me too much, and I would enjoy an intelligent mech to talk to for once."** The medic laughed at his own joke, while Familiar ran out the med bay doors again. The medic looked at me one more time, before turning back to whatever it was that he had been doing earlier.

_Cybertron; Jack_

Something large, cold and metal poked into my side, disturbing me from a wonderful dream involving pizza, Jasper, Sierra, and a sunset. I groaned, and rolled onto my side, so that my back was facing the intruding digit, but it persisted, pushing me across the smooth metal surface. I felt rather than saw the edge of the console, and tried to roll away from it, but the metal finger of doom decided otherwise, and I was pushed over. I seriously considered screaming for my life, but found myself landing on a large metal object before the idea became reality. I did yell in pain, though, when my head connected with the metal.

"That wasn't very nice." I said angrily, rubbing the side of my head as I sat up. My mech didn't make any move to apologise, at least not that I knew of, and he lifted the hand he had pushed me onto up to his chest height. Before I could adjust to the movement, he stood up, and started walking away from the terminal that he had been working at the last time I had seen him. He looked down at me with concerned optics, though, when my stomach decided to be a lion and roared.

He clicked something at me, and used his other hand to stroke my hair, ruffling it up slightly. I assumed he was trying to reassure me, but I couldn't help but thinking that_ I'd just been pet, _as if_ I were a dog._ Apart from a wounded pride and a blow to my dignity, it didn't hurt that badly. He stopped after a while, and used his other hand to cup around me, blocking most of my view of the outside world. I shifted on his hand slightly, and moved towards the large metal wall, peeking through a gap between two of his fingers.

He was walking through his... office building again, passing terminals that looked exactly the same as the one he had been working at, and the same as the ones the bots we'd seen on the way in had been working on. He didn't make any move to greet or converse with any of them, and they acted in a similar fashion. I wasn't complaining though, because that just meant we would get out of here quicker. Maybe my mech was friendly, or at least so far he seemed friendly, but I somehow didn't think that the same could be said for the others.

Relief briefly flowed through me when we exited the building, and were back outside again. That relief was quickly replaced with disappointment when I realised that his hand was blocking my view of the skies and, by extension, the buildings around us. What little I could see through the gap in his fingers was the waists of the mechs and femmes that he passed as he walked to wherever he was going. I groaned in disappointment, but otherwise just moved to sit down. If I couldn't see what was going on, then I might as well just rest for a while. I let my head rest against the metal plating of his chest, listening to the intricate whirring and grinding of metal and machinery as he moved, as well as the thrum of his spark, pulsing life through his frame.

I was jolted out of this position when he moved his hands, cupping them like a bowl almost and holding them slightly away from his chest. My head banged against one of his fingers again, and I growled up at him in frustration. He shot me a sympathetic look (at least, I think it was sympathetic), before turning his head back up to look at whatever he had been staring at before. I rubbed my head as I made myself more comfortable, trying to reorient myself. When I finally worked out which way was up again, I turned around to see what my mech was looking at.

The first thing that I noticed was that we were no longer outside. Instead, it looked like he was sitting on some kind of bench, with me cupped in his hands, which were resting on his... thigh region. From what I could tell, he was just staring at what I guessed was the receptionist's desk, where a femme was working diligently on her console. Every now and then, the familiar tunes of Cybertronian talk would filter through from a door just next to her. Neither the femme nor my mech seemed to be very interested in it, but I had a feeling that voice was the reason my mech was here, and was most probably the femme's boss.

The floor beneath me suddenly moved, as my mech decided to move both of his hands to the right. As if there were some kind of deity laughing down at my misfortune, I hit my head against the metal of his hand _again_. I winced in pain at the skin on my head that was starting to get a little tender. My eyes turned to look up at my mech - my mech needs a name, but 'Mechy' just doesn't sound that grand. He wasn't paying attention to me though. Instead he was looking to his left, more or less level with his optics. My gaze followed his, until I met the source of his attention.

In all honesty, I thought he was the ugliest mech on the planet. Mud brown plating covered his entire frame, but there patches of neon green in random locations, and red fins protruded from the sides of his face. He, too, was looking at my mech, but that wasn't what caught my attention. Instead, it was the strange box-like thing on his lap. It was grey metal sheeting on all sides except for the one facing me, where delicate metal bars ran up its height. The only thing my mind could compare it to was those cat carrier boxes that people use when they go to the vet... The vet... no, it couldn't be. I moved to the edge of my platform, trying to see if there really was anything inside the contraption.

The metal of the cage rattled instantly, and I fell backwards in surprise, this time managing to avoid hitting my head. I recovered from the shock, and cautiously looked up again. There, through the bars of the cage, I could see it clearly now. It was a dull brown/orange, and reminded me of the small lizards that occasionally found their ways inside the house. This, however, was no small lizard. I figured that it was probably longer than I was tall, and I didn't particularly like the feral look in its eyes when it saw me. Even worse, judging from his reaction, I'd saw my mech was _scared_ of it.

The two mechs eventually stopped staring at each other, and began conversing. Neither seemed interested thought, in much more than the other's pet. Based on body language, I'd guess that the brown mech wanted to pet me. He didn't manage to, though, because my mech barked something that sounded a lot like a no. The conversation was cut short when the femme called something out, and the mech stood up, taking his caged monster with him, and walked through the door where the voice had come from earlier. My mech immediately stretched out to make himself more comfortable, and stopped looking down at me every two seconds to see if I was okay.

After a few minutes, the brown mech came out of the door again, almost looking upset. I don't know what part of me noticed that he didn't have that funny carrier anymore, but I did. For some reason, that did not calm me down at all. He shot my mech what I guessed was a wave, before leaving out of the only other door in the room. The femme chimed something to my mech, and he stood up, heading towards the door. I grasped the sides of my platform for support, while he gently cupped his hands again. He paused by the desk, saying something to the femme. She seemed concerned for a moment, before nodding and turning back to her console. My mech chimed a reply, before opening the door and going through it.

I was almost immediately lowered onto a large metal platform, where my mech's hands disappeared back into the air. Another mech, a gentle mix of forest green and black, was standing on the other side of it, inspecting a few tools that were built into his hands. If I had had any doubts before, then they were must certainly gone. I'd been taken to a vet, of all things. I'd thought my pride had died earlier, but some of it must have survived, because it just been destroyed now.

The vet looked at me for a moment, clearly curious, before his gaze turned back to my mech. The two quickly entered a conversation, which seemed one-sided, as my mech would give a short, brief answer to what sounded like a long, thought-out question from the vet. The vet rolled his optics at my mech, before I was bathed in a faint red light. From what I remembered of Ratchet's equipment, I guessed it was a scanner of some sort. The light went off, and the vet started fiddling with his equipment again.

My heart stopped when I saw what instrument he had finally selected, but I wasn't given any time to react as he quickly grasped me with his free hand. He slowly brought the giant needle towards the side of my neck, as if he knew it was terrifying me and he was enjoying the torture. My mech barked a quick, somewhat loud note to the vet, stopping him just inches from puncturing my neck. The vet replied, saying something that seemed to instantly calm my mech. It didn't calm me though, because the next second the needle was jabbed straight into my neck. I heard the unmistakable sound of hydraulics, and I knew from experience that something had been injected straight into my bloodstream.

I wasn't given much time to think about it though, and I found the familiar dark blankness of unconsciousness greet me moments later.

_Jasper, Nevada; Arcee_

"Hey!" The human female ran up to my form. At first, I had thought she would just run around me, to some other human friend of hers, but then I noticed her face, and made my holoform turn towards her. "Hey," she said again when she stopped by me. She placed her hands on her knees and started breathing in heavily. I let her catch her breath, watching her with a mild curiosity. She stood upright again after a minute, wiping away some of the sweat that had gathered on her forehead.

"You're one of Jack's friends, aren't you?" she asked, looking at me with some form of curious expectation. I rested the urge to run over her in irritation, if not just for the fact that she looked familiar. "Yes, Jack is a good friend of mine." She smiled, looking relieved for some odd reason. "I thought so. You drove past me when we were having a conversation at the KO burger. You ride the same bike as him, too." She gestured at my alternate form, as if to clarify some sort of misunderstanding. My holoform nodded slowly, measured almost. Not too slow, or else she'd think I wasn't telling the truth, and not too fast, or she'd think I was lying. "I let Jack borrow my bike whenever I'm not using it. I spend a lot of time riding across the country with my friends. We're part of a group of racers in... a private racing circuit." I mentally thanked myself for having made up this excuse for Jack. He had expressed his concern about 'his constantly disappearing motorbike'.

"That's... cool." I noticed her fake a smile, and rolled my holoform's eyes, although no one would see that through its helmet. "I was just wondering... if you'd seen him lately. I haven't seen him in a few weeks, and I'd really like to talk to him about something." The girl looked almost... pleading, desperate. I filed that little thought away for later considering. "I'm sorry. He's been to some military project. Apparently, he 'shows potential to be a great leader', whatever that means." I let my holoform sigh. "He's been out of control with us since he left; they won't let him use his phone wherever he is."

"Thanks, I guess," she said. She turned around and walked a few steps, before turning to face me again. "If you hear from him, please tell me. I've... tell him that I've got the answer to the question he asked me a few days before he left." I nodded slowly, looking at her intently. She wasn't too bad looking, although Jack could do better, much, much better. Something about her seemed off, too. It was the eyes; they held too many lies and secrets, and she didn't seem to be the most pleasant person to be around.

"Hey." She said, distracting me from my internal assessment of her. I turned to face her again, trying my best not to sigh in frustration, or throw her off of a cliff. Jack would be upset about that. "Yes, is there anything else I can do to help you?" I didn't even bother to hide the irritation in my voice, and the girl backed away slightly in fear. "I just wanted to know what your name was. You seem like a nice girl. Mine is Sierra." I was almost flattered by her praise. Almost, but not quite. I thought back to my cover plans quickly, looking through them. "Rebecca Carly Black, but everyone just calls me R.C." I replied. She nodded, before walking off back to wherever she had been going before. I didn't even think twice before pulling away and driving back to the base.

"_**Who was that?**_ Bumblebee asked when we finally met up on the roads just outside Jasper. I shook my holoform's head. _**"It was nobody; she thought I was someone else."**_ After that, I sped past the yellow car. This time, there was going to be no arguments.

* * *

**So, my life decided to become the embodiment of chaos over the past four months (Four? five? I lost count, to be honest). Which is why I didn't update until now. To be fair, I did warn you guys in the beginning that I have trouble getting internet access as well, and that regular updates are a figment of your imaginations (well, the last part I just told you now, but still...) I DO try to post as often as I can, when I can. I almost managed to upload this one month ago, but then family visited for Christmas, and my friend broke his ankle, and we spread my gran's ashes, then one of my favourite aunts landed up in hospital, and a few fights between various family members... so I have been busy in real life, too. Still, sorry for the super long delay, and I hope that the wait was at least worth it. If not, I'd love to hear suggestions.**

**I'm back at school again, and I'm doing harder course work (and that sounds weird), but I'll try to pump more of this out. I promised myself when I signed up on this site and now I promise you all now: whatever I post, I will finish unless my muse or I are deader than a rock (a dead rock... that died... twice). So more is coming for you all!**

**Review if you like, or have any suggestions, questions or ideas. I'll try answer them all next time. PMs work fine; emails to my personal account are a bit stalker-ish.**

**JayJayinMay, offering his latest, and long overdue, offering to the reviewing gods of FanFiction**


	7. Forging New Ties

**_He's back._**

**_I have to apologise for this (second) late update. Life decided to beat me to a pulp with my biology text book (which I actually should be studying from right now for my mid-years). I've been trying to pull a good grade out of school , and I haven't been sleeping well lately. Everytime I started writing this chapter, someone would complain (fictional and non). Jack and Raf decided they wanted to do something else for their parts. That, or I would be distracted by my uncle or step-father (the former who supplies me with brilliant games, and the latter has discovered Minecraft...) Then school would appear again, and I'd have to work on something else. Add in a massive inability to write, and you have half the story._**

**_But, that's the bad news. Good news? New computer for my birthday (it was a milestone one, and we needed a new computer). Of course, that meant I needed to get all my writing off of my laptop. That led to a new volley of problems: my keyboard. Don't get me wrong, it works. It just swapped my and " keys around. Been nearly two months, and I still swap them around. So please for give that mistake. I tried proofreading them out, but they kept reappearing. That, and the shift doesn't shift, and a sometimes does a caps lock on me._**

**_Better news on my side, though? I can write again (no more pesky writer's block, and the PC is sort of normal again), and I may be getting permanent internet access. If I do get it, I'll try make up for my nine/ten month absence(flip, has it been that long already?). Jack and Raf have ironed out their issues for me, and I have the plans for the next three or four on paper already (and the ending, but that's another day's story)_**

**_I did have internet access awhile back (I could check the date, but I'm in a rush while I still have this to post, and I hate typing out my notes before the time), some of you may have noticed. This chapter was almost completed then (I had to type out Raf and Jack still), but I had to leave before I got the time. I did manage to post something else, though. I'd hoped I would have gotten this out then, but... well, life sucks that way._**

**_Once again, sorry for the late, late (super late with a side of tardy beyond note) update. I'll 'try' put more up soon, but I'm writing exams soon (as in next week soon, man they keep coming after me) and I have to study. If I get the chance, I'll put up more. Believe me though, this will be updated, and _soon_. I'm more irritated with myself for leaving this so long._**

**_Now, I shut up. Chapter 7, the long overdue and lost, has been found._**

* * *

_**Forging New Ties**_

_Autobot Outpost Omega One; Arcee:_

Arcee was surprised to hear the familiar sounds of a car engine approaching. In the past month, she'd only heard it twice, one of those times being when the car had been going away from the base. She welcomed the visit regardless of surprise, though. Primus knew that they needed something to cheer up the mood on the base.

"Nurse Darby, it is a pleasure to see you again." Arcee heard Ratchet greet as she entered the main portion of the silo. Sure enough, the elder Darby was standing on the elevated walkway, near where Ratchet was working on the computer. Their eyes met, and both woman and femme nodded at the wordless greeting.

"How's the... project going? Any progress yet?" June asked, smiling nervously. Ratchet paused and looked down at her. The look on his faceplates was contemplative.

"Thanks to Starscream's intel, I have managed to fashion together a rough formula for opening a more stable bridge to a specific time point. However, it still requires testing, and we have yet to uncover a specific coordinate place or time." June frowned at the words, and quickly looked away.

"That's... that's good. Testing is good."

"However, I believe I may have narrowed down the search parameters for at least one of the children. I am uncertain yet, but I have reason to believe Rafael left his glasses behind wherever he appeared. They were shown around in a large gathering I stumbled across a few centuries ago." Ratchet added, noticing the mother's obvious concern. Arcee shot Ratchet a curious look, but he shook his head when June wasn't looking.

"Mrs Darby, it has been awhile," Optimus greeted, walking into the main silo. Turning to hide her embarrassment, June chuckled. "If you have a moment, I would like to speak to you in private. I have a few questions to ask you, if you do not mind."

June immediately shook her head. "No, no! It's fine, Optimus. I always have time for you." The room went quiet for a moment, long enough for June to turn around again in order to hide the fact that she was blushing. She quickly regained her composure. "I can go right now, if you want."

Optimus nodded, and offered a hand to her. Surprised by the gesture (and turning a brighter shade of red) June hesitantly stepped onto the offered servo. With a gentle grace, Optimus walked back out of the room, towards Optimus' private quarters. Arcee quickly turned to Ratchet.

"Raf's glasses, seriously? That was a low blow, Ratch." She didn't mean it to come out that bitter, but it did. Ratchet just shrugged, turning back to the monitors.

"Regardless of that, it was somewhat true. I do recall seeing a strange object of alien origin a while back. It was being showcased by a rather vain mech from the Spec Ops department. He was quite proud of it, apparently he won it in a bet with a Wrecker or something. It may be a bit presumptive, but, in hindsight, they do resemble human glasses."

"Does Bumblebee know that you have this lead? It might help us find Raf!" Or Jack, she nearly added. Arcee was smarter than that, though. Ratchet just shrugged again, not even looking away from the monitors.

"I informed him, and Optimus, the moment it came to mind, which was yesterday. I did not think you would care as much about information like that." The words were as bitter as Ratchet intended, a not-so subtle comeback for her earlier slip. It was true, but that didn't mean she didn't care. Raf _is_ family, and family sticks together.

She couldn't dare let the medic know she as insulted though. That would just give him the satisfaction of a job well done. So instead of that, she simply shrugged.

"I'm going to find June."

_Cybertron; Jack:_

Jack would not lie and say he had slept well. His back ached, and his stomach was growling louder than a cat. He would have done anything to have stayed asleep for another hour or two. He'd been sedated, too, so it would have been the perfect excuse.

Instead, he found himself sitting upright. A loud, scratching noise had started to his side. The room was too dark for him to see anything around him, let alone what was making the noise. Instead, he was greeted with blurred half images. The scratching noise faded away, before coming back again. It persisted like this for a minute. When his eyes had adjusted to the lighting, Jack began to stand up. It was a bad idea. He fell forward almost instantly, knocking something over in his fall. It clattered on the metal surface a few times, before it fell over an edge, where it stopped with a crash.

Instantly, the room was alight with a blue shine. The scratching sound had halted abruptly, replaced by the sound of gears grinding in a fury. Jack found himself blinded as the source of the blue light shone directly in his eyes. The room was silent for a moment, long enough for Jack to wonder what exactly was going on.

He didn't get time to answer that. A large metal hand grabbed him by the chest. Without warning, he was whisked into the air, the blue lights following him. The sudden bout of vertigo passed as quickly as it came, but by that time he was already moving again. His eyes began to adjust to the sharp beams of light that were focused on him, until he could finally see what was going on.

His mech was holding him; he'd guessed that much already. From the looks of it, they were going to the main room he had been found in, which Jack likened to a dining room and office in one. He'd probably woken up his mech, from the groggy look he was wearing.

He was lowered down gently. The other hand came up behind him, and 'suggested' that he move onto the counter in front of him. The moment he did so, the hands disappeared, and the mech walked away. Jack watched as he walked out of the room. He stood on the counter for a minute before he returned.

This time, he was carrying a large glass cube in one hand, while his other was cupped as if there were something else in it. Jack didn't even bother trying to see what was inside it, as it was much too high for him to try and peek into as the mech passed by him. He stopped in front of Jack, setting down the cube next to him. Slowly, the other hand was lowered in front of Jack, and the fingers uncurled around what was held inside.

All Jack could see on the centre of the palm was a small metal package. Well, it was small to the mech, but for him it was larger. Probably about the length of his arm, and almost knee height to him, from the looks of it. He stared at it for a moment before a hand gently nudged him in the direction of the palm. He got the hint, and moved to pick it up. Despite its metal appearance, Jack lifted it with ease, as if it were a bundle of cloth. He moved off of the hand, taking it with him.

The mech walked away, taking the cube with him, while Jack stared at the box. He could see what looked like an opening mechanism. Cautiously, he pulled the piece of metal out of the slot on the top. Instantly, the box unfolded itself. Jack had had to jump back to avoid being hit in the shins by it. The moment it stopped moving, he walked forward to see what was inside.

Jack was a bit disappointed by what he found. All the box had held was a lump of what seemed to be brown clay. Curiously, he poked it, only to find it even had the same consistency. He cast a glance in the direction the mech had walked, although he was long gone from the room. He looked back at the clay. What was he supposed to do with it, then?

A few minutes later, his mech walked back in, this time with a cube filled with a purple-pink liquid he knew to be energon. Taking a sip from the cube, the mech watched him, leaning against the opposite wall to do so. Their eyes met for a minute, and Jack tried to wordlessly convey his confusion. It failed.

"What is it?" he asked. The mech buzzed an answer, but he hadn't expected to understand it. The mech over-exageratted his movements as he took another gulp from his cube. Jack wasn't too sure what the mech meants, even after he repeated the gesture another three times. Eventually, the mech just walked up to him.

The mech pointed directly at Jack, and then at himself. He paused for a moment, during which Jack nodded. Smiling somewhat, the mech pointed at the clay, and then his energon. Jack just stared at him for a moment. The mech repeated the process twice before Jack finally got the gist of what he meant.

"You expect me to eat that?" Jack asked, pointing at the large lump of clay. The mech smiled encouragingly; Jack took that as a yes. He took small steps towards the pile, and hesitated briefly before sticking a hand in it. He grimaced at the feeling as he pulled it out, imagining the same feeling going down his throat. Breaking the piece away let out a puff of the smell. It smelled just like it looked.

With slow caution, and an expectant spectator, Jack took a small bite of the clay. It practically melted in his mouth. It tasted like a mixture of tofu and soy milk. Sadly, he'd grown used to the taste. So, while it tasted disgusting, he could deal with it. The mech smiled as he took another bite, before he went back to his cube.

When his handful of clay was gone, Jack felt stuffed, a feeling he'd almost long forgotten. His stomach was content, and his mech was pleased. The clay didn't even taste half bad after a few bites. That was one problem solved, at least. From the looks of it, there was enough clay left to keep him feed for a few good weeks, and he doubted that his mech only had one of these crates. Jack sat on the edge of the counter, watching his mech walk around the room. He hadn't felt this good in a long time.

_Jungle Planet; Miko_

Miko wasn't entirely sure how long she'd been running around in the maze of caverns and caves. It had felt like hours since she'd gotten out of that net, sure, but she figured it was probably closer to ten minutes. Not that it mattered any more. She doubted she was going to make it. She was completely exhausted.

To her credit, she'd been completely immobile thanks to that net for three days, during which she'd barely slept. She was already surprised that she'd managed to run so far. It was easily a mile or so of twists and rocky turns. She figured, with all the small and cramped tunnels she'd squeezed through, that she had at least a minute's lead. Two if they had to make a detour to get past that one gap about halfway back.

"Come on Miko! You can do it! If I can climb the rope in gym, then you can make it just awhile longer!" Her inner Raf was cheering her on, like he had been since she'd started running. Jack had made a brief cameo somewhere along the line, but she'd ignored him in favour of anything else at the time.

"All you need to do is take one step at a time. I bet you can be running and fighting 'Cons in no time!" an all too familiar voice spoke, and Miko found herself greeted by a ghostly image of herself. She remembered the day well enough. Bulkhead had almost given up on his walking rehab, and needed a little push. And, when he wouldn't budge after she'd used all her muscle against his pede, she'd tried speaking to him instead. "Come on, Bulk! Left foot, right foot, left, right... that's it!"

"Fine, fine, I'm going, I'm going!" she grumbled back, voicing the exact same words Bulkhead had replied with. She could manage walking for a bit. It was dark, sure, but the cave looked like it went downhill for awhile. Downhill meant it'd be easier to walk, too. Even if it did mean she'd spend twice as long looking for the way out later.

Again minutes and hours blurred together, with her head staying oddly quiet. Water was dripping somewhere up ahead, reminding her how much she needed to go, as in _now, _but there was no time for that. Somewhere behind her, she could hear metal hitting rock steadily, and she somehow doubted those three bots would wait just because she needed a potty break. Instead she walked as fast as her legs would let her, trying to find as stable footing as possible.

The only warning she had was a drop of water hitting her face. The next thing she knew, her foot slipped on a puddle of water, and the floor started moving closer to her face. A rock grazed her knee, while another managed to jab her in the gut, but the fall left her unharmed. It was what came after that hurt. She didn't stop moving.

Water splashed in her face as she suddenly found herself sliding face first down the slope. If it weren't for the fact she'd bitten her tongue (and hard at that) when she tripped, she would have been scream the entire way. More cuts formed across her legs and arms as the slope got even steeper. Reflexively, she covered her eyes with her hands, and hoped for the best.

With a rough jolt, she stopped sliding. A stalagmite... mate... mustard... whatever had stopped her. She didn't care about what it was called right now. She was shivering, and she was wet. Her hands were practically invisible in the dark now, and the sound of water falling had only grown louder. Taking a few deep breaths, she steadied herself, before pushing herself. She winced in pain, and had to grab onto her rocky saviour for support.

She gasped when her eyes finally adjusted to the low light. Barely a metre to her right was a large hole in the ground. She couldn't see the bottom of it, so she assumed it was deep. Raf suggested to her that it was called a ravine but, once again, she didn't really care. It was a deep hole, and the only thing that had stopped her falling into it was the pointy rock she was leaning on. The water slide she had taken led straight into it, and explained the rushing water sound. Miko made a mental note to thank her lucky stars if she got out of here any time soon.

Pushing away from the rock, she began walking away from the slope and the bottomless pit. A narrow path sat on the border of her vision, and it looked protected enough for her to get a moment's rest. Soon enough, she sat down in the outcropping, and sighed in relief. Her everything hurt, but she was alive.

"RROOAAARRRRR!"

Miko jumped at the noise, and instantly looked at the source of the cry. A small metal panther stalked up towards her, clearly unhappy with her presence. She slowly stood up and backed up against the cave wall as it approached her. Red optics meant it wasn't a friendly kitty, so Miko didn't expect a good ending.

"RROOOOOAAAAAARRRRRR!" This time the cave walls rattled with the echo of the roar. The panther cat jumped with her, so Miko only imagined a worse evil was coming. The floor shook with the footsteps, and more rumbles echoed against the walls. She kept side stepping until she bumped into the metal panther, but neither looked at each other, instead both focusing on the three pairs of optics that were slowly approaching.

"Run!" The words escaped her mouth before she could stop them, but that didn't mean her legs didn't obey. Before she'd even realised it, her entire body had turned and was facing back towards the slope she had slid down. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the panther was keeping up with her. Thundering footsteps told her that the three beasts behind her were also running now.

The slope instantly resisted her efforts to climb up. Small pebbles came loose, having been slowly eroding for centuries. Regardless, she pushed her way up, scrambling a path towards the source of the water again. Even falling on all fours occasionally didn't hinder her speed.

A sickening crunch told her that her captors had also begun climbing the slope, and she didn't need to be a rocket scientist to know that they were slowly gaining on her.

"The entire place is crumbling, Miko. All it would take is one right kick, and it would collapse behind you." Raf's voice reverberated softly in her head. Not pausing in her step, she began looking at the slope ahead of her. At the peak of the slope stood a small rock, about knee height. It was innocent enough, but Miko had experience with causing cave ins, and knew without a doubt that with one good shove...

Reaching the peak, she turned around and looked back down the fall. The three beasts were struggling, but they were making their way up. The panther was also slipping, but it was losing distance with the mechs. In her head, she began counting down from ten.

"Hey, robo-creeps!" she yelled, gaining the attention of four pairs of optics. She tossed down a small pebble, hitting the one square in the optic and earning a roar of rage. "Eat this!"

With a loud grunt and a great heave, Miko rammed her entire weight into the rock. It moved, and began tumbling down the slope. While she saved herself from falling down with it, Miko watched the rock as it hit wall after wall. It hit another mech again, and it bellowed in rage as well, but the noise was soon drowned out by a louder cracking sound.

Miko heard rather than saw the work her damage had done. The walls, weak with age, began cracking and crumbling where they'd been hit. The cracks soon met at the ceiling, and larger rocks began falling down, hitting the floor and causing a slide of stones to go back down into the hole. The three mechs began sprinting towards her, but the rocks and slides were steadily pushing them back.

A large rock soon fell between her and the three of them, and it tumbled down the slope. When it disappeared into the distant hole at the bottom, Miko couldn't see their optics any more. Even if they did survive, the large rocks from the ceiling soon got too large, and the entire slope soon clogged up with them until it was entirely blocked. She let out a sigh of relief.

Purring soon caught her attention, and Miko turned to see the panther walking up to her. It head-butted her, pushing against her chest and rubbing all over her. She stroked its head with a hand as she looked around at her handiwork.

A beam of light soon caught her eyes. There, in the middle of her pile of rocks, was a shaft of light. Looking up, she could see a hole out of the caves back into the jungle. To make it better, the cave in also offered her a nice path to walk up and out on. She glanced at her new found companion before making her way to the hole.

_Junk Planet; Rafael_

"**So I assume then that you are feeling in good health. My scanners still cannot accurately determine your physical well-being. I trust that your internal repair systems are functional, at the very least?"** the mech said, his optics barely inches from Raf's face. He nodded, smiling at the medic. The past few hours with him had been... interesting, to say the least. Nothing had been happening, so they'd had the closest they could to a conversation. That pretty much meant that the mech told him about the current battle status on the planet, and what was currently going on here and there.

The mech lead back and moved away from Raf's table. **"Good. I'm still calibrating my scanners for a proper scan, but that could take a few cycles with this ancient thing."** Raf jumped when the medic suddenly started banging his fist against the piece of equipment in his hand. **"Nope, still not taking in the new settings. I'd send it to Wheeljack for repairs, but I prefer my servo being attached to me, and this is one of the last medical scanners this side of the Nova Galaxy."** The mech sighed in frustration before putting the device back down on another table.

They spent the next half an hour like that, sitting in silence. It was only disturbed by loud footsteps stomping down the hallway in a panic, and the med bay door being thrown open.

"**He got caught in one of his blasts again. Luckily he managed to cover most of himself before it blew, but..."** Raf took a moment to realise what the new mech was talking about before he noticed another two mechs, Familiar being one of them, carrying in Wheeljack. He couldn't see very well, but the smell of burning metal was unique, and Wheeljack had definitely not had a large black patch down his one side when they'd seen each other earlier.

"**Get out! You could contaminate the wound further. I'll deal with him personally."** The three mechs scampered out of the room the moment Wheeljack was deposited on a table. The medic slammed the door shut before rushing towards the Wrecker. **"Slag it, Jackie. This is a bad time to blast open your servo and chestplates. Half the medical team is on the other side of the galaxy!"**

Raf tried his hardest to see the extent of the damage done to the mech, but most of the time the medic kept getting in his way. Both of his servos were busy as he began closing off tubes and repairing vital circuitry. Wheeljack didn't make a single noise or movement the entire time, and his optics were dark.

Not thinking about the gap, Raf jumped from his table to the medical berth the medic was working on. Wheeljack was laid flat on his back for the repair job, and tools littered the remaining surface, but Raf managed to safely land on it. The medic didn't even notice him, so focused on repairing Wheeljack.

"**Frag it! I need..."** the mech shifted in his spot, both of his servos wedged into Wheeljack's side. He tried removing a servo, but Energon squirted out as he did so, and he had to quickly force it back in. **"I could really do with the rest of the crew here..."**

Raf moved closer to the injured side of the mech, being cautious of any sudden movements either the medic or Wheeljack might make. He climbed over the somewhat oversized equipment as he did so, eventually coming to a stand still when the medic's right servo prevented him from moving any closer.

The mech quickly saw him. **"Slag, no, get away. I'm busy right now, and you'll get..." **he paused for a moment. **"Frag it, I'm out of other options. Listen kid, I need to ask a favour."** Raf looked up at him, before nodding. He shifted his servo until Raf could crawl under the gap. He did just that, and soon Raf found himself seeing Wheeljack's injuries for the first time.

A large, gaping hole covered his entire side, with the armour singed where it had either melted or fallen off. Energon leaked out of various cables and tubes. Wires sparked here and there, and gears grinded noisely as they tried and failed to connect to each other. The medic spoke again, regaining his attention.

"**I need to weld some vital lines together. I'd be able to do it in a sparkbeat, if it weren't for the fact that they won't stay in place long enough for me to even fetch the welder. Do you mind... just climbing in and holding them in place? It'll be quick, and then you can come straight out again."** Raf paled. He wanted him to go in there? He was about to shake his head, but he saw the look in the medic's optics, and nodded.

Without saying another word, Raf gripped the sides of the wound. He could see where the lines were, right at the core of the wound. He'd be a bit cramped there, but he'd be able to squeeze in. He was small enough. He vaulted himself over the armour.

A soft spray of liquid, probably coolant, instantly assaulted his face. He covered it with one hand before moving on past the severed cable. He dodged pooling Energon and sparking wires as he finally reached the large digits of the medic.

"**Okay kid. Now just hold that line in place when I let go, and I'll grab the welder and fix it. Try to, uh, duck down a bit when I come back."** With that said, the medic retreated from the wound. Raf had to jump forward to catch the line. It was about the thickness of both his legs, and easily as heavy. He had to use all his strength just to hold it in place. At least ducking down gave him a bit more leverage on it.

"**Keep down, I'm going to weld it now."** The medic warned, inserting a long tube into the wound. With expert precision, he moved it against the severed part of the line. Raf flinched when a flame roared out of it. He ignored the brief flames above his head, and it was over in two seconds. With a sigh of relief, he let go of the line. It held in place.

The tube was removed from the wound. **"Perfect. That should hold long enough for me to do proper repairs."** The mech's servo reappeared. Without warning, the digits wrapped around him, and he was whisked out of the wound. He was set down next to the tools on the table. The medic was looking down at him, a grateful smile on his faceplates. **"Thanks. Wheeljack probably wouldn't lasted much longer if I'd tried that by myself."** He moved a digit to pat Raf on the head, scruffling his hair, before returning to his repair work, letting Raf watch him this time.

A few minutes later, his voice called out again. **"Hey, kid, can I ask you another favour?"**

Raf watched as the medic patched over the last piece of Wheeljack's armour. Energon was being fed intravenously into his systems, and the armour was a very metallic grey, but he otherwise looked perfectly fine. The medic smiled at him, before shaking the Energon off his servos.

"**Not bad. You've worked with Cybertronian medics before, haven't you?"** He asked, moving over to sit on the table next to Raf. The boy was only slightly startled by the larger mech suddenly sitting next to him. He nodded, looking up at him.

"**I thought as much. You know your way around our anatomy quite well, for an organic."** The medic ruffled his hair again with one of his digits, before the servo rested on the opposite side of Raf.

Suddenly, after a comfortable silent, the mech shifted. **"And here I am, not even introducing myself. Sorry kid. It's been crazy here without the rest of my crew. These Wreckers sure know how to injure themselves. I've replaced Wheeljack's servo alone at least six times in the last solar cycle."** The medic shifted to look at Raf properly, leaning over a little to do so.

"**The name's First Aid."** Raf smiled. He could remember that. He pointed to himself and smiled. "Raf."

_Autobot Outpost Omega One; Arcee:_

"I just thought that you should know, June. I did not think it would be fair to withhold such information from you for longer than necessary." Optimus' voice drifted down the hallway, leading Arcee (who was most definitely _not_ spying on her leader) to his location. She heard a muffled voice mutter something, but June's voice was too silent to catch any actual words.

"I shall leave you to yourself for a few minutes, to allow you to consider what I have told you." This time, Arcee could hear footsteps, too loud to be human, too soft to be Bulkhead. It took her a moment to fully register what Optimus was doing, long enough for a servo to grab her by the shoulder.

"I believe we should leave Mrs Darby alone for awhile. I had to inform her of some information Agent Fowler provided me, regarding Jack, and I believe she deserves a moment to collect herself." The Prime released his grip on her shoulder, and she stood up straight. She looked at Optimus with concern, both for her partner and his creator. "What happened?"

"Jackson's father has recently caused trouble with the government social services. It would seem he is looking for his son again. Agent Fowler was informed of this, and thought it pertinent to disclose to me." Optimus replied, not missing a beat. Arcee, used to interrogating Decepticons, didn't see any hint of deceit in his optics. That was enough for her. She relaxed a little. It wasn't _bad_ news then. It just wasn't _good_ news, but they could deal with that.

"So what's Fowler's plan of action? I assume our cover story about Jack's disappearance won't deter him forever."

Optimus looked at her for a moment, before turning to look back in the direction June was still sitting. "Fowler is hoping that his father will buy the 'special military training' story, and disappear into the dark again, but he too isn't counting on it. He mentioned that he was considering moving June into the Witness Protection Program, to try hide our trail."

Arcee nodded, not fully understanding what her Prime meant, but agreeing nonetheless. Fowler knew what he was doing, so she would trust him that much at least.

Optimus walked away, heading back towards the main silo. Arcee was half split to follow after him, but eventually decided against it. June needed some comfort right now. Her interrogation of Optimus could wait until later.

June was sitting on a storage crate when Arcee finally found her. While she wasn't crying, tears glistened in her eyes. She looked up at Arcee when she walked in, and a brief smile crossed her face. It quickly faded away, leaving the frown that had been etched into her face over the past month.

"Optimus said Jack's father has come out," Arcee said. She was hoping she'd be able to get the woman to spill her feelings out; she knew from experience it was far better to let it out than keep it in. She sniffed her nose, and kept quiet. After a minute, she finally nodded.

"Yes... he told me that. I haven't seen Kyle in a long time." She sniffed again, before rubbing her arm against her face. Jack had explained to her why humans did that after Raf had gotten a flu. She didn't understand why it was happening, but Arcee wasn't one for medicine, never mind organic medicine. She would just accept the fact that June felt sick inside, and her body was responding accordingly.

"So, how do you feel about it? You never told us what happened between the two of you..." Arcee pushed. June just needed to start talking, the rest would pour out the moment it got a chance.

June shrugged. "I don't know. Upset. Nervous. Indifferent. Curious what he's been doing since he left me. It's been awhile."

"Do you want to tell me about him? It might make you feel a little better."

June nodded instantly, sighing. "He was... romantic. He would kiss me the moment he came in the house, and swept me off my feet whenever I was down. He was braver than any ten men I could name, and his eyes... I could have stared into them for days. Optimus' optics are about the same shade of blue, maybe a bit brighter."

Arcee smiled inwardly when she saw June cheer up just a little. Whatever she thought of Kyle, it certainly wasn't bad. At least, not the Kyle that June remembered.

"I was about six months pregnant when he disappeared. I remember the day perfectly. It was like any other day. He'd gone out to work, he was a police officer, and he never came back. Oh, I looked for him, everyone did. The town missed him. I regret that Jack never got to meet him, and that he never will." Arcee shot up at that.

"Jack will never meet his father? But his father is looking for him? The moment we get him back, we can take him to see Kyle, if you want," Arcee asked. June seemed shocked, but shook it off.

"No. I... I closed that door a long time ago. I gave up on ever seeing Kyle again, and Jack will never see him if I get my way. He left, and I won't just let him come back in." With that said, June shut her mouth. Arcee was left in silence as she thought over what June had said. Something she had said, something small, seemed _off_, and she intended to find out what.

Ratchet glanced at his leader as Optimus walked in the room.

"How did she take the news? I assume she is upset," Ratchet said. Optimus looked at him, his expression completely serious.

"As well as I had expected, perhaps a little better. Arcee is currently with her, no doubt."

"Did you tell her that..."

"No, I did not," Optimus cut him off mid-sentence.

"She will know you lied to her, you know."

"When the time comes, Arcee will be told everything she needs to know. Until then, she is content."

* * *

_**So, there's chapter seven done. I've managed to post this just in the nick of time (I have to leave internet access zone now). Like I said, I'll try work on chapter eight straight away. It's six pm here right now, so I'll maybe add a bit to it if I get the time. Anyone who noticed Deceived Romance (the story I managed to up in the gap to get rid of my writer's block) and wants it to go on, I'll work on it soon. I just owe this story a little more than I owe that one. (That, and I have a few flow issues I need to kink out of it).**_

_**But, anyway. Hope it was a good read. I'm open to any requests, suggestions and comments. Constructive criticism is more than welcome. Please, do point out if this needs immediate spell check. As I mentioned, my keyboard is acting up now (epic eye roll of epic eye roll-y ness). I tried to check, but... yeah. I'll try go through it to see if I missed anything tomorrow.**_

_**No review responses, guys, sorry. Thanks for the support, though! It motivates me to write more than you realise. To the numerous people who are following or favorited this, I thank you, and hope that you stay interested in the story.**_

_**Again, do tell me if there's anything I need to check up on in here.**_

_**JayJayinMay, the late and busy, offering his bribe to the angry mobs of fanfiction.**_


	8. Echoes of a Past Life, Miko Nakadai

**Hey everyone!**

**So, I managed to write (the very short) chapter 8 for When in the World. Yes, it's short. Sorry about that. It is a very filler-ish chapter, and only serves to bridge the small gap between seven and nine in terms of story. A lot more happens in the next three chapters, so expect them to be longer (10 I plan to be quite a long chapter because something very important happens then). So please, forgive this tiny chapter in favour of that.**

**I have plans to be by Chapter 10 at the end of June, to make up for my large gaps after 5. I should have internet by then (but the usual issues have arisen. We need a credit history in order to make a credit history...). If not, I'll find a way. I spoke to a trusted adviser on this (read: an awesome teacher) and she gave me some nice tips for getting some better chapter themes.**

**I have been busy, though. I wrote seven exams in the past two weeks (six five working days), and they weren't the easy ones (Physics and Chemistry, Biology, English Language, English Literature, Accounting, Afrikaans - my second language, which is similar but different to Dutch - Literature, Afrikaans Language). I write more next week, so I'll be a bit busy. I'll try do some editing on Monday and Tuesday, though, so please tell me if there are any mistakes. My at sign and " still swap, so do point out and forgive (although the at signs seem to disappear, so maybe just note if there aren't any " please). I'll try answer the few answerable reviews at the bottom.**

**Let us go on to Chapter 8, Echoes of a Past Life (Part 1), Miko Nakadai**

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**Echoes of a Past Life, Miko Nakadai **

_Autobot Outpost Omega One; Arcee_

Arcee found herself glaring across the main room in the silo. Bulkhead, in one of his fits of 'I miss Miko', had decided to start playing her music on his speakers, loudly. To be completely honest, she'd bet Bumblebee that Ratchet would come in yelling about the racket in less than an hour. Whatever he was doing must be taking all his attention, because they were reaching the three hour mark, and there hadn't even been a peep from the medic.

Frag. That meant she had to take Bumblebee's patrols for the next week.

Ratchet had mentioned he was working on adjusting some flaws in his 'quantum flux-generating temporal tear-inducing algorithm'. She and Bulkhead had both nodded, and then later guessed he was talking about opening a Time Bridge again. Neither of them were scientists, so most of Ratchet's explanation upon hearing that guess just flew over their heads. It _did_ confirm their guess though. At least, they think it did.

"You're going to keep playing that all day, aren't you?" she asked. Bulkhead turned to her, apparently startled that someone was in the room with him. He probably would have been alone in the room, if it weren't for the fact she was on monitor duty until Bumblebee returned from scouting. Bulkhead dialed down the music a little, although the noise was still echoing loudly in the room.

"Yeah. Miko missed another concert yesterday. She would have loved it, and they were right here in Nevada! She might just make Ratchet send her to that concert after she comes back." The 'if' seemed to fill the room for a moment, but both decided to ignore it. The music soon turned back up when Bulkhead started walking out of the room. Arcee just sighed, before turning back to the monitors. Ratchet could deal with Bulkhead when they eventually bumped into each other.

She spent the next few minutes waiting patiently for the yelling of the medic, and for Bumblebee to call in so that she could open a Bridge for him to get back to base. He'd been out for an hour, and it wasn't exactly a big area he was searching. He was supposed to have called in ten minutes ago. She wasn't too worried, though. The yellow scout had been spending a lot of time driving around lately. He was probably done already, and taking his time speeding down some country road he had most probably found.

Half an hour later, the monitors buzzed to life as Bumblebee contacted her. **_"Arcee, open the Bridge."_**Arcee nodded, typing in Bumblebee's coordinates and pulling the switch. Within a second, the Bridge roared to life. The green portal wasn't even open for a minute before the yellow sports car sped through it. While Bumblebee did a few laps around the room, leaving more than a few skid marks as he went, Arcee shut down the system.

"Spot any Energon deposits out there?" she asked, turning to face the transforming Bumblebee. He paused, stretching to get rid of a few kinks in his sockets.

**"Not that I could detect. The entire place was just sand, rocks, and a combination of the two."** Arcee nodded. She hadn't expected there to be any Energon that side of the desert anyway. It was really only thoroughness that sent them out to that area now.

**"Has he exploded yet?"** the yellow mech asked. Arcee shook her head. "Ratchet's been so busy on the other side of the base, I don't think he'd even hear an explosion. Bulkhead went down there a few minutes ago, though, so it'll probably be any moment now..."

"Bulkhead! Turn down that infernal..." Said medic's yell cut out half tirade, and the two Autobots in the main silo area turned to face each other. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. Without saying another word, the two sprinted out of the room, towards the sound of Ratchet's silence.

_Junk Planet; Rafael_

**_"_I guess I have you to thank for saving my life."** Wheeljack, despite what one might think, did not sound too pleased with that. The Wrecker had only recently woken up after his emergency repairs, and the medic, First Aid, was still finishing off some of the less critical repairs. This included the fact that two arms were currently doing nothing, and the rough metal that had been used to replace half of his side. Still, Wheeljack did sound a little grateful for Raf's help, even if he didn't seem it.

"It was nothing," Raf replied. He was still a bit at a lose for words when it came to talking to the mechs that walked around the base. Not that it mattered, since he was the only one on the entire planet who spoke even a word of English (or any other human language, past, present and future). The closest any of them had come to speaking to him was First Aid, and that was only his name. Well, it was supposed to be his name, but...

**"Rack,"** First Aid called, **"I would appreciate if you avoided staying too close to Wheeljack right now. He's not really propped up very well, and I highly doubt either of you will be able to stop him from landing on you if he slips."** He meant well, but Raf couldn't help but feel a small bit irritated by the medic. Maybe it was just because, despite what little corrections he had tried to make, the mech still couldn't pronounce his name right. Normally, it wouldn't irritate him at all, having been called a lot worse things on Earth, but he'd really just like one being to call him by his real name every once and awhile. Still, it beat the first few times, when First Aif kept calling him 'Rat'.

First Aid scowled softly, before picking him up and gently moving him a table away from the injured mech on the berth. **"I really don't want you to get hurt, and, as much as I'd like some help, repairing Wheeljack's more delicate inner workings isn't the best idea for you right now. You'll be in a dangerous spot too. Stay."** First Aid didn't even wait for him to reply before moving back to fiddle with his tools. He'd explained to the two of them earlier that he had to reconnect a few loose cogs and torn wires in Wheeljack's upper torso and arms, and the constant movements in those areas didn't exactly promote workplace safety for small organics.

Wheeljack stared at him for a moment, watching as the medic grabbed what looked a lot like a giant chainsaw, before his attention turned to Raf. The other mechs that had come in earlier, when he had first woken up, had been chased out while Wheeljack was being repaired properly, but no one had bothered to take out Raf, and First Aid had no idea who was trustworthy enough to keep him alive for more than a few minutes (if even). That meant that these was a surprising, but not entirely unwelcome, spectator to the more advanced repairs Ratchet had never bothered to show the boy.

**"I think I'll start working on that translator for you kid. I'm sure Aid here would like someone to talk back to him for awhile, and we kinda need to find out what planet you're from so we can get you home."** Wheeljack said with a smile. It quickly disappeared as he looked down at his arms, before reappearing again. **"That's after I get my arms back, though. They might come in handy."** Both Raf and First Aid laughed at the pun, but the joke seemed to be lost on Wheeljack. He just shrugged it off.

Without much warning, First Aid pushed down on Wheeljack's chest, forcing him flat down on the berth. **"Stay still now, or you'll land up dancing every time you try to pick up an Energon cube."** Wheeljack nodded silently at the threat. First Aid turned to Raf, and his gaze was completely serious. **"And you are not to try watch this up close this time, or you'll find you won't be able to pick up anything at all."** With that said, his kind gaze came back, and First Aid returned to his work. Raf sighed. It was going to be a _long_ day.

_Jungle Planet; Miko_

Miko was stuffed. There wasn't room in her stomach for another fruit, although the red ones looked pretty tempting. After climbing out the cave network through the huge hole she'd made, all she'd been doing was eating and drinking. Of course, there'd been some throwing up (a not-so-pleasant experience caused by eating a little too much of the purple fruit), and she'd only been above ground for half an hour at most, but those were only the small details. She had food, water, and a friend.

The metal cat, despite having wanted to eat _her_ earlier, had decided to follow her around instead of leaving the first moment it got. Right now, it was sitting behind her, watching with a curiosity that, had she not been completely desperate for someone to talk to (that wasn't in her head), she might have found it a little on the side of stalker-like. The fruit she'd tossed to it, half as a peace offering and half to chase it away, sat innocently by its front paws, on which rested its head. In a way, it was kind of cute. If you ignored the metal, glowing red eyes, and the sharp and deadly-looking teeth that were jutting out the corners of its mouth, which Miko would have done anyways.

She'd noticed that the Jack and Raf in her head were extremely silent now that she had company. She wasn't complaining, because a certain imaginary black-haired teen had been getting on her nerves. The cat, however long it decided to stay, was a welcome change compared to he-who-shall-not-be-named. Of course, there was the chance that she'd be its lunch later, but she'd deal with that later when it comes up. Until then, she was content.

The cat was startled when she decided to fall down onto the ground next to it, lying down comfortably on her side and watching it. There was a faint rumble of disapproval, but it quickly went silent when she decided to do what she did with the two cats she'd left in Japan. Apparently, metal or flesh, from Earth of an alien, cats still loved it when someone scratched between their ears. There was no purring like a normal cat might do, but the look it shot at Miko told that she'd be dead if she decided to stop anytime soon.

Eventually, an hour or so later, the cat moved away of its own accord. Miko was almost upset that he was going (and from where she was sitting, she could tell it was most certainly not a girl), but he quickly turned around and bumped her in the sides with his one front paw. He repeated this a few times, forcing her to stand up when she wouldn't move, before walking away. His body language and constant turning around to look at her eventually told her that she was to follow. With little hesitation, she followed him through the thick foilage of the lower forest.

He eventually stopped when they were underneath a small outcropping of rocks in a hillside. At close inspection, Miko could see that he'd probably stayed here before, most likely just before he too fell into the caves underground. While it wasn't large, with the two of them barely having any space between them at the most, it did give a little shelter from the wind. It was only upon walking into the shelter of the rocks that she realised she had been shivering. She turned around, only to get a shock.

Without her noticing, the weather outside had gone from the usual sunny and hot to a much darker, colder and windier storm. It was only drizzle for now, but it looked like a great storm was approaching. The trees were actually leaning a bit to the side with the wind. Briefly, she thought of a hurricane, but pushed the thought out of her mind. If she thought too long about it, she'd just make herself panic, and she didn't really want to freak out in the middle of a huge storm.

Her eyes soon met up with the red optics of her apparent savior. She probably wouldn't have noticed the storm until it was too late, never mind finding her own shelter, if she'd been left to her own accord. "Thanks, big guy. I owe you one. Remind me to find you a nice big tuna when I get the chance. If there are fish on this planet." The cat didn't understand her words, but the meaning seemed to be conveyed. In response, it rubbed against her side, knocking her over further into the little shelter. Her hand brushed against some vines that were dangling from the ceiling, briefly reminding her of her capture, but she ignored them.

Savior (her newly-named cat) laid down by the entrance of the shelter, leaning against her slightly and offering her a little warmth. Miko smiled at the gesture, and stroked the metal plates by his neck again. She considered telling him his name, but decided against it. It didn't fit him, for some reason. She frowned, before shaking it off. She'd find him a proper name soon. From the looks of the weather outside, she still had plenty of time, after all.

Soon enough, the sound of rain thundering down echoed into the little hole, and Miko couldn't see far out past the entrance of the shelter. A person would probably drown in that weather, she mused. Of course, the constant drumming of water reminded her of a great problem that she'd been ignoring for a long time now. She was bored. She couldn't really play with Savior (Ted, Magnet, Mechakitty... she'd find a good one soon) in this small place, and there was no ways she could go outside and find anything to do out there. Her hand twitched, and she hear the sound of the water in a new light.

"I have an idea," she told the giant cat by her legs proudly, "It's inspired by the sound of the water drumming away outside. You see, there was this metal band on Earth that had a similar drumming tune to it. I can play the guitar, and I know the song for it as well." She smiled at the cat, who was looking at her with some confusion at her talking. She gestured to the vines next to her. "Not the same, but they'll do. Now, let me introduce you to some Earth culture." With that said, Miko pulled at the vines, making them tight, and began strumming away. In the small confines of the outcropping, the noise mixed with the thundering rain, creating an odd but most definitely Earth-based sound that only Miko Nakadai would listen to.

_Cybertron; Jack_

If there was one thing Jack disliked about his new life with his mech, it was the lifestyle. As it turned out, he wasn't to be trusted at home (was the mech worried he wasn't house trained?) That meant that he had to constantly go to work with the mech. Which would have been fun and exciting... if he wasn't forced to watch someone work on a computer working in an alien language for an entire day. From rough guesses based on his sleeping patterns, he'd guess that a Cybertronian day was about half again as long as one on Earth. He'd also slowly noticed that he was staying up longer and longer, to the point where he figured he might get used to sleeping on Cybertron time.

Right now, he was still watching his mech work at the computer terminal in front of him. The symbols that constantly moved across the screen reminded him of what he'd imagine a hacker to look like. If a hacker were a giant alien robot from the planet Cybertron, his mech would probably fit the bill perfectly. Of course, for all he knew, his mech _was_ a hacker (or the Cybertronian equivilent at least). When he'd thought that one up, about a week or so ago, he'd quickly shoved away the idea and its implications. Soundwave, for all Jack knew, was a notorious hacker on Cybertron, and he didn't even want to consider that the silent masked mech was behind one of the many doors in the building right now. He had enough nightmares without that in mind.

He had plenty of free time, thanks to his mech (who looked interested in whatever was on his screen). Between using a toilet (well, it was a litterbox, really, but he didn't to think he had stooped that low) and eating the tofu-clay, he had nothing much to do. Apparently, a chew toy hadn't been on his mech's list of things to do. Of course, every now and then they spent a little time together, consisting of what Jack imagined was a cross between roughhousing and rubbing a pet's belly. It was fun, but his mech didn't really have all that much time to do it. His mech wouldn't do it that much at work, either, so that didn't help him much right now.

There was the small chance that he would be given more food soon. It wasn't that he was hungry, but it gave him something to do, and distracted him from the feeling in his gut that something was wrong. Considering that Miko was still out there somewhere (even if it was safe on Earth), there was definitely trouble brewing somewhere. He couldn't help think though that he was going to be involved, though. He'd had this feeling for awhile now, and he'd eventually guessed what it was.

With some guesswork, and a little investigation (which consisted of watching how his mech seemed a bit worried whenever they looked at the public screens on the streets), he had deduced only one theory, and he didn't like it one bit. It meant that he was in a lot of trouble, and probably dropped his life expectancy down to a few weeks at best, give or take when it started.

The problem was that, despite what little he saw, Jack _knew_ he was on pre-war Cybertron. It went against all logic (although Ratchet would disagree there) and he still couldn't quite wrap his mind around it. The feeling had only intensified though when he realised it: it wasn't going to be _pre-war_ Cybertron for that much longer. It was in the air, and there was no way that it was something else. He'd tried guessing other things (he'd spent a few hours diagnosing himself with some rare brain disease that would melt his head for awhile) but nothing else seemed to fit.

Without any warning, his mech stood up and walked away, leaving his screen on. Jack watched him for a moment before he left the room. He found it odd, but otherwise didn't think much of it. Sure, his mech usually turned his screen off before leaving, or took him with whenever he left, but that meant nothing. The symbol that was large and in bold on the screen also probably meant nothing. It was all just a coincidence, and had nothing to do with the foreboding feeling in his stomach. Everything would be just right, and he'd go home to his tofu-clay tonight.

Right?

_Autobot Outpost Omega One; Arcee_

Arcee found Ratchet outside Starscream's cell, with Bulkhead looking at him with excitement. It was deathly silent; not even Starscream was talking (an accomplishment Arcee desperately hoped they could repeat). Bumblebee ran into the room a few seconds later, and looked at the four of us, expecting an answer. From the looks of it, Ratchet wasn't going to talk any time soon. He was deep in thought, and no one would dare disturb him now.

Bulkhead eventually motioned for Arcee and Bumblebee to join him outside the room. He waited until they were both out before following behind. He shut the door with a gentleness that was most definitely _not_ Bulkhead. Bumblebee stared at the two for a moment, before sighing.

**"What happened? Is something wrong?"** His words broke the silence. Bulkhead, still excited, smiled and shook his head.

"No, something is right!"His grin nearly reached the top of his head as he thought about it. Arcee just motioned her hand for him to go on.

"We figured that much out. Now do you mind explaining why Ratchet is currently sitting in there staring into space? Or is that not important?" she said, when Bulkhead stayed quiet. He shook his head, grin remaining.

"Nah, he's good. He's just trying to remember something."

"And this is good, how exactly?" Bumblebee nodded in agreement, and Bulkhead sighed in frustration, scratching his forehead.

"Guys, this isn't the time to ask questions; it's a time to celebrate!"

**"And what are we celebrating, Bulk?"** Bumblebee asked, hardly masking the frustration in his voice. Bulkhead nodded, realising something.

"Right, right! You guys weren't here! Ratchet says he remembers hearing Miko!"

The room was silent again, both Arcee and Bumblebee shocked. Bumblebee was the first to get his processor straight again and form a response.

**"That's great! So we can go fetch her now?"** Bumblebee asked, catching onto the excited mood immediately.

"Not quite. I still have to formulate her exact position, and find a way to open the Time Bridge to those exact coordinates. Otherwise, we should be able to go in a matter of days." Ratchet said, walking out of the cell room. He looked at us briefly, before turning away and heading towards the main room. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have work to do."

"So how did Ratchet find Miko, then?" Arcee asked. She was curious to find out how exactly the medic knew where and when she was, after all.

"Well, I was walking down this hallway, playing one of the songs Miko wrote before this whole accident. Ratchet heard it, and came out to yell at me for disturbing his work, but he stopped halfway and went silent. I waited for a moment, before he said that he'd heard almost the exact same tune and voice a long time ago."

Arcee resisted the urge to frown, instead putting up a happy face. While it wasn't news about Jack, at least it was good news. Bumblebee started talking again, motioning towards Bulkhead.

**"So, where is she then?"** Bulkhead frowned at that, before shaking his head.

"With the twins and Ratchet."

* * *

**Tune in next time for more...**

**Yes, that all happened. Miko's been found, but there's still more to go before she gets back home. Jack suspects that the war for Cybertron (that's actually trademarked I think... don't own either way) is goingto start soon, and Raf is still wearing his glasses and speaking a foreign language. What else could possibly go wrong...**

**I will try update within the next two weeks. Please do tell me if there's any mistakes or errors, if you have any tips or ideas. PMs are fine if you're worried about that, I usually answer (my phone can usually do that much, if the battery doesn't die...)**

**My few review responses (there wasn't that many that still applied, but...):**

**ForgotMyName2Day:** Hmm, I don't know what OP could be hiding... It couldn't be... could it?... Nah! ( -insert hysterically evil laughter- ) You'll find out in due time... maybe... Thanks for the sympathy, sadly though, we don't have as much free wifi down here (it's still a new thing) and it'll be hard for me to lug a huge PC to the nearest McDs... (tempting, though, I will admit. Think they'll let me?)

**Lunar Mist** and **ForgotMyName2Day** (again, yes)**:** Hmm, to be honest, I never heard of Rebecca Black until you mentioned it in the reviews. Curiosity got me, though. Completely accidental, I assure you. And now, thanks to the two of you, Arcee is starring in American Idols in my head...

**Corona Pax:** Here's another update for you (although you already got one, here's another anyway). I'll listen to any ideas if you send them my way. I've already added more than a few ideas some reviewers and PMers sent my way. Thanks for the offer, and I hope you're still reading and enjoying this.

**Foxbear:** True, organic matter would be hard to come by... hmm, didn't think of that. I might make reference to that later, thanks! Yes, Raf is going to lose his glasses, and sooner than you'd expect. It probably won't be made into that big a deal though, if it comes out the way I want it to (hmm, although the idea of Raf having a tantrum over losing his glasses is funny, it's probably a bit OOC...)  
And yes, it does seem so Miko to become friends with a dangerous cat creature. I wonder how he'll influence the events of the next few chapters...

**Riyappe Paws:** Yes, your idea was perfect! It was just what I needed to make the next two or so chapters work! Sadly her story is nearing an end, but I'll make sure he'll add a little spice to the things that occur.

**Blackshadow32:** Yeah, sorry. Was so busy lately with family stuff, school work, exams, excursions and all the things we do here when we're bored (like help older sisters take cats to new homes). I'm glad you liked the last one (Raf and Miko especially). Hmm, what other metal panthers do you know of? Yes, it's him. Miko will find out in about chapter 11 or 12, if things play out right. First Aid was spur of the moment, but I needed to name him. And yes, Wheeljack does make things blow up a lot, doesn't he...  
Thanks for the last little bit, too. It made me smile a little on the inside. Hopefully, I can keep up the standard.

**That's most of the reviews, to the others: thanks, and hope you're still with us!**

**Please do point out errors, and I hope you enjoy! Tips, ideas and pointers are welcome!**

**JayJayinMay, the exam-writer, offering this tiny offer to the fans of fanfiction.**


	9. Darkening Skies

**It's July. Never saw that coming. I promised a June update and failed. Mrs Darby will probably kill me for not keeping a promise on her name. **

**I have a fair excuse though: my internet access was down. And my grandfather's too. School is closed. Internet cafe's here are... well, let's say I never want to go in one. I can't lug a giant pc to the few places in town that offer free WiFi. My friends are all busy (one of them is in Brazil, one is touring the country – again – and the rest all have plans with each other.) **

**So how did I manage to finally update, you ask? Well, after much waiting, delays and stuff, the family may or may not have finally gotten permanent internet access... And, admittedly, that probably also delayed this by another week or so...**

**Anyway, back to business. I big thanks to my one friend in the human world. He uploaded chapter 8 for me after my last upload session wouldn't let me enter that part of the site. So thanks man. Also, an early warning: I'm playing around with the format for chapter 10. It isn't set in stone yet, but it will probably be noticeably different. Chapter 11 will be normal again, but still. It didn't feel right any other way.**

**It's a bit short. There wasn't much I could think of doing without making it feel dragged out too much. 10 and 11 will be longer, I hope.**

**Also, please tell me if you see any errors (spelling and that). I tried to find any, and I fixed a few, but I'm human, and I think my spell check is a Decepticon.**

**Review responses are at the bottom. On with the show. **

**I present to you all Chapter 9: Darkening Skies **

* * *

**Chapter 9: Darkening Skies **

_Autobot Outpost Omega One; Arcee _

"I just need to plot the right points in, and I should be able to make a Space Bridge open up about two kilometres away from Miko's position." Ratchet said proudly. Agent Fowler was on the screen in front of him, smiling at the first bit of good news he had heard since the kids had disappeared.

"Where exactly did you say she was, Ratchet?" the government agent asked. It was technically part of his job to know it, since he had to write up a report for his higher ups, but it didn't stop him from being curious too. The medic frowned, deep in thought.

"The planet has no name," he eventually answered. "My crew merely referred to it as 'Jungle Planet'. It was believed to be an old colony of our people, quite close to Cybertron in fact. I went there many, many years ago." The room was silent for a few minutes as no one wanted to speak.

"There's something you're not telling me about what happened on that planet, isn't there?" Fowler asked.

"The planet's inhabitants were... not fond of organic life unless it was a plant. Some members of my crew shared this... distaste. I am afraid Miko may have born witness to this personally at least once." The last part was said slowly, and Fowler, all the way in Washington, swore he could have heard the tone of regret in the medic's voice.

"I'm sure she's fine, doc. It's Miko we're talking about, after all!" Fowler said, half confident in his own words. The medic didn't respond after a minute, so Fowler finished off. "Keep me updated on the situation. Fowler out."

With that said, the call was terminated. Ratchet immediately moved back to his position in front of the monitors, and began typing away furiously. Moving forward, Arcee finally decided to make her presence known. Ratchet glanced at her briefly as she approached him, before quickly turning back to the screens.

"I estimate we will be able to recreate the 'Time Bridge' in a controlled environment in approximately four hours. I assume that is what you were going to ask." The answer was aimed at her, but Ratchet didn't look away from the screens when he spoke. Arcee stopped next to him, and looked at what he was doing. Formulas danced across the screen faster than she could process them, but Ratchet appeared to understand exactly what he was doing.

"Not quite, but thanks, I'll tell that to Bulkhead." Arcee paused, considering how to ask the question again. "No, I was going to ask: do you think Miko might know where Jack or Raf are? If they went in together..." She was more than a little hopeful that maybe, just maybe, Miko had a vague idea where they went.

Ratchet didn't even pause before he answered. "It's highly unlikely. If Starscream is truly unaware of when or where the kids are, then they probably have no indications either." He continued typing for a moment, before he continued. "But, it is possible that Miko may know where Rafael is, as they went in at the same time, and both were being held by that Vehicon drone. They might even be in the same place."

Arcee frowned at that, but said nothing else. She had figured Ratchet might say as much; she'd worked that much out all on her own. Still, it hadn't hurt to ask, and there was always the chance that she was wrong. Arcee resisted the urge to sigh, though. That meant they were still no closer to finding and bringing back Jack. She had complete and utter faith in her partner, but there was no telling what kind of trouble he was in.

_Cybertron; Jack_

Jack didn't want to say it, but he was lost. He'd waited for what had to have been at least an hour, if not longer, but his mech hadn't returned. Eventually he decided to climb down the station and look around to pass the time. After falling down and landing painfully on his side, he realised he couldn't get back up. So, he had decided to look around the area.

Now he was stuck outside in one of the main passages. At least, it looked big enough to be one of the main passages. He hadn't seen anyone walk down it yet, though, and it was fairly quiet. Maybe it was only a big passage from his perspective? Either way it didn't matter. He was positive he had taken a left turn after three intersections, and then a right. Or was it a right after two and then a left?

He'd been wandering around for another hour, easily. The door to his mech's station had been left ajar, perfect for him to fit through. Now though, all of them were sealed shut. Either he'd made a wrong turn, or his mech had come back and closed the door shut behind him. It wasn't good, that much he knew.

He reached another intersection of corridors, and looked down the passage. Empty on both sides. Perfect. He'd left in a quiet area, so as long as he stayed in the quiet parts, he would probably find the right room eventually. It also meant he wasn't as likely to be seen and captured (or worse, not seen and killed), but that was just the small details. He turned left, keeping a hand on the walls as he went, while inspecting every door he saw. If the doors had had any identifying marks, his task might have been easier, but he had no such luck.

Without warning, the wall his hand was on retracted into thin air, and he stumbled onto his injured side. He rolled onto his backside, looking up in time to see the mech that had opened the door he'd been walking past. It hadn't seen him yet, and was currently stepping out the door.

It took Jack just a second to realise he was directly in the path of the incoming step, and another to realise it was too big for him to dodge in didn't mean he didn't try. He quickly flipped himself and pushed himself as fast as he could away from the large lump of metal. He was too slow though, and the large shadow still loomed over him. Jack sent a prayer that his friends and mom were safe wherever they were, and he closed his eyes so he didn't see what came next.

It must have been a minute or so before he opened his eyes. He pressed his hands against his body to check that he was still indeed alive. The shadow was still covering him, though. He looked up, and saw that the foot was suspended about a meter above him. Nothing was stopping it. Jack moved out of its path, still looking up at it. When he cleared the shadow, he saw that the mech had stopped in its tracks, and was looking directly at him. The foot gently set itself down after he was clear of it, and the mech watched him carefully.

The mech eventually made the first move, saying something to him while crouching down. With little warning, Jack was scooped up in a large metal hand, and lifted high up into the air. The mech had stood up, he noticed, and was walking somewhere with him in hand. The sudden motion had done nothing good for his stomach though, and he was afraid he might have to throw up. The mech eventually reached a busier part of the building, but made no effort to stop.

Soon enough, Jack saw his mech walking away down one of the corridors. The mech carrying him went the same way, and for a moment, Jack thought he might be heading to his mech. Instead, he turned at the last moment, entering the only door in the corridor.

The room was fairly small, and, behind the large desk station, was a wall of glass overlooking the entire city. Jack hadn't realised how high up he was in the building, because the seekers and jets were flying at about the same height as the floor. For a moment, Jack wondered if this mech had brought him to his own office. This idea was scrapped when he was set down on the station, and what he had thought to be a statue moved.

The two mechs talked, but Jack was distracted by the sight of the statue one. Metal strands dangled from his face giving him the appearance of an old man. Blue optics held more wisdom than Optimus' own ones. From the way the mech that brought him here was acting, this bearded mech must be his superior in some way. The mech that brought him here left the room, closing the door. The bearded mech leaned over to inspect him.

At that moment, Jack felt a slight burning against his chest. The metal chain around his neck was shifting. Quickly, he moved his hand and grabbed it. The Key to Vector Sigma was attached to it, where he kept it safe after Optimus gave it back to him. It was glowing white, and burned to the touch. He heard the mech start with surprise, and looked up in time to see a much larger version of the key in the mech's hand. It was also glowing white, but it's larger size made it seem much brighter.

The two keys seemed to be attracted to each other, both pulling in the direction of the other. The light focused from both for a moment, before disappearing for a second. Then, with a bright flash, a blinding beam formed between the two. The beam flashed brightly, rattling metal and shaking flesh, before it burst, throwing both Jack and the mech away from each other. Jack felt his back hit something on the station, and he slid down it. The light had given him a burning headache, and his hand was still holding the burning hot key.

The mech had stood against the blast better, and was already walking over to him. This time, instead of leaning over him, he lifted Jack in his hands until he was at optic height. Confusion danced with intrigue in the blue lights. Then, an old, wise voice spoke, coming straight from the mech.

"Interesting."

_Junk Planet; Rafael_

**"Wheeljack, I thought I told you to stay on that berth."** First Aid said, walking back into the med bay. Wheeljack just looked at him and shrugged, sitting back down on the berth,, cradling a few pieces of metal in one hand.

**"Relax a little, kid! I just walked down to my lab for this."** The Wrecker held the pieces of metal up to the medic. First Aid inspected them critically, which would have confused Raf if it weren't for the fact he had already heard about the inventor's tendency to... explode. First Aid couldn't see anything dangerous about the parts, but he also didn't see any use for them.

**"I see no reason why you would need those parts, but I'll ignore the fact you went against my orders this one time."** He walked away from the Wrecker, coming over to the table Raf was sitting on. **"Next time, just ask me first. We don't want to strain the patches too much too quickly. I already repaired you once this cycle."** While he tried to sound a little irritated, First Aid sounded more amused than anything else. Raf raised an eyebrow at it, but said nothing. This conversation obviously had happened before.

**"I thought it'd be pretty obvious what I'm working on,"** Wheeljack said, shifting slightly on the berth. He set the pieces down next to him, and instantly began fiddling with them. Without any plans in front of him, the inventor began piecing together the parts.

**"Hmm, it _is_ you, Wheeljack. Let me guess: a bomb?"** First Aid drawled. From where he was sitting, Raf could see the smirk on his face. Wheeljack groaned in frustration, earning a soft chuckle from the medic.

**"It's a translator. Or at least it will be."** Wheeljack defended, barely looking offended by the remark. Raf laughed though when he First Aid still looked at the device with mock terror. This really had to have happened often for them to seem so comfortable about it.

**"For Raf? It's a bit... big for him."** First Aid said, moving closer to have a better look at it. He measured it against his hand, before walking back over to Raf's table. First Aid set his hand down next to him, and tried to level it next to Raf. **"See what I mean?"** he asked, gaining Wheeljack's attention, **"It's over twice his height!"**

Wheeljack tried to move, but First Aid rushed over to stop him from getting up, bringing Raf with him at the same time. **"It's just a model prototype. I want to see if it works before I scale it down to his size."** Raf looked between the intertwined limbs of the medic and the inventor to get a proper glimpse at the 'prototype'. With First Aid trying to force the somewhat larger and stronger Wheeljack to stay down, he only saw a peek at it.

"Is the metal supposed to be turning red like that?" he asked. Both mechs stopped fighting and looked down at him in confusion. Wheeljack turned to face First Aid, but both recoiled when they realised how close their faces were. Raf laughed at their antics, while both of them fell off opposite sides of the berth. Raf walked over to the closer side and looked down to see the horror on First Aid's face.

**"Never speak of that?"** he asked.

**"Agreed."**

Wheeljack sat up first, looking at Raf. **"Now, what was I saying? Right, it'll be so much easier if we can have a conversation with him that _we_ can understand. There's so much we could learn, like their science, or..."** The Wrecker went on talking, while Raf thought. What had _he_ said before the two of them had jumped off the berth and given him a fright? He looked around the room trying to remember, before his eyes stopped on the prototype. The metal was turning a dark red now.

"Is the prototype supposed to be glowing like that?" he yelled up at the inventor again. The mech stopped listing things and looked down at him. He seemed confused for a moment, before he noticed the panic in Raf's eyes. He followed where he was pointing, and finally noticed his invention.

**Oh frag! Get dow..."**

The rest was cut off by a loud explosion, and the last thing Raf remembered before it went dark was an intense heat travelling past him.

_Jungle Planet; Miko_

It had taken it's time, almost a whole day to be exact, but the storm had finally gone stopped. Her friend has long ago decided to take a nap, and still wasn't up. Miko wasn't going to disturb it, and she really needed to stretch her legs a bit. The cat didn't even notice her moving, despite the fact she'd had to push his head off of her lap. That really hadn't helped her legs when they'd fallen asleep.

She took a cautious step out of the little shelter, nearly slipping on the muddy floor. She wasn't exactly excited to walk around in the mud for too long. That was fine, though. All she really wanted to do was find some fruit to eat, and drink some of the rain water while the leaves still held some. She could get the water easily enough, but she couldn't see any of the funny fruit growing nearby. Half of her wondered if she should wait awhile before going out in search of food.

That side of her lost, and soon enough she was pushing herself through some of the leaves, in more or less the same direction they'd come from yesterday. There had been fruit by the clearing they'd stayed in for awhile, and it couldn't have been that far a walk. Even if it was, or she made a wrong turn, all she had to do was retrace her steps. Left by the yellow leaf, turn around by the large puddle, it was simple enough.

But, after a few minutes of walking, she admitted that the clearing was most certainly not the way she was going. That was mostly because of the giant canyon in front of her. She'd fallen down it before she'd gotten trapped in that net, but she hadn't went past it after getting out of the caves. Which meant she'd made a wrong turn. She sighed, and turned around to head back to the rock shelter before she got too lost.

That plan was put on hold when her foot slipped. The mud beneath her shoes offered nothing to grip on, and she felt herself falling backwards. To her relief, she landed on solid ground. A meter more back, and she'd have fallen off the edge of the cliff. That was when the ground shook. For a moment, she thought the cliff was going to take her down with it, especially as the shaking continued. Then she heard the pattern, or felt it at least. It was steady, and not nearly as earth-shattering or nearby as she'd imagined. It almost reminded her of when Bulkhead had taken her out scouting in a forest, and they'd gotten separated. She'd heard him walking long before she saw him...

That meant someone out there was walking around! Someone who was bipedal, and probably Cybertronian! The only mechs she'd seen in the jungle (or under it, technically) had four legs, and, from the feel of it, there was no way this one had more than two. That meant Bulkhead had come to fetch her! It even felt strong enough to be her guardian, if only from a distance. Without thinking about it, she ran in the direction of the footfalls, keeping an eye out for glimmers of metal in the all too green forest.

She ran for a good few minutes before she got tired. The steps still shook the ground, and she was definitely closer than before. Still, she should have seen something by now. A flash of metal, a glint of an optic. There had to be a way she knew she was on the right track!

"What am I missing?" she asked, hoping someone would answer for her. Disappointed when no one did, she tried to think of it herself. The footsteps were growing softer, and the ground was shaking as much either, which meant they were getting away. But which way?

"Ugh!" she yelled, kicking a rock in frustration. She was never going to find... wait. She looked at where the rock landed. It wasn't deep, just a slight depression in the ground. It was still muddy from the rain, so it was bound to be marks. She looked behind her to see her footprints. At least now she had a path home...

"Or a path to those mechs." She smiled as she realised it. The rock was lying innocently in a hole too perfect to be nature. It was smooth, and even pressed. Like a giant metal footprint, leading all the way to her possible saviors. Without a moment's hesitation, she ran, following the large strides of the disappearing footsteps. Even when she couldn't hear them, it was fine, because they'd left her a trail.

The leaves suddenly parted into a clearing, and Miko stumbled slightly as she exited the jungle. She looked around, and smiled. There was large structures in the clearing, and they looked recently built. This was a base camp, she knew it. She kept looking, though. Eventually, she spotted a large piece of yellow metal, covered in brown muddy splatters. She followed the metal up, recognising similar the Cybertronian joints and bindings. Soon enough, she saw the blue optics at the top of the mech. She'd found the Autobots! She was saved!

Then the mech shrieked loudly. She felt large footsteps, and saw a red one come out from one of the buildings. They both approached her when it was quiet. For a moment, she thought she'd just given them a fright. Then she saw the large yellow limb coming down towards her, and Miko had the sudden feeling that she should run.

So she did.

_Autobot Outpost Omega One; Arcee_

Arcee looked up when she head the distinct sound of a car approaching the base's entrance. She hadn't been doing anything important, no one was. The only mech on base who was doing something useful was Ratchet, and even he was only doing triple checks on everything and anything. Optimus had squeezed every iota of information he could out of Starscream increase Ratchet had overlooked something. Bulkhead and Bumblebee were sparring in one of the hangers to pass the time. She'd personally gotten bored of it after round 84, although she hadn't found anything to do since. Which was why she was staring at the Autobot insignia on the floor.

The car pulled up into the main hanger, and was parked out of the more busy areas. Mrs Darby stepped out of it, still dressed in her nurse's scrubs. She pulled a large bag out of the backseat, and made her way to the main elevated walkways. Arcee waved at her when she looked her way, but otherwise said nothing. She hadn't expected the nurse to be coming past today, and was slightly curious about what was in the bag. June dropped down by the TV, before walking up to Ratchet.

"I trust you managed to get all the supplies I asked you," Ratchet said, looking away from the monitors to greet the nurse. She nodded, gesturing at the large sack behind her. "Good. It is best that we prepare for as many outcomes as possible. There is no telling what state Miko will be in when she arrives here."

June nodded in agreement. "The ladies in the pharmacy thought nothing of it. I'd ordered most of these things in advance anyway, just in case, so I just asked them if I could fetch my package a bit early. They know how I like to keep a few supplies at hand anyway." The older Darby cut herself off, before she continued to talk about nothing in particular. She sighed, pushing a hand through her hair. "Should I start preparing the med bay, or is there something you'd like me to do first?"

"No, prepare the med bay. We shall be leaving for the Decepticon's Space Bridge in a few minutes, and I shall be accompanying the outward team." June nodded, and immediately disappeared down the walkways to Ratchet's med bay. Ratchet didn't return to his position in front of the monitors, however, instead walking towards Arcee herself.

"There is no point in delaying it any further, I suppose. Optimus is remaining here to watch over Starscream, in case he thinks of trying anything." He frowned a bit at a thought, before continuing. "He also asks that you remain here as well, to man the Ground Bridge controls."

"Why are you coming along? I thought you would have preferred to man the controls yourself." She didn't mean to be so rude, but there was one duty Arcee hated, and that was monitor duty. She was also curious as to why the medic wanted to come along for this mission.

"I am manning the controls, the Space Bridge controls in fact. Aside from Starscream, I am the only individual with a good enough understanding of them to be able to recreate the Time Bridge incident. Believe me, if I had the choice to stay here instead..." Ratchet didn't finish, but Arcee understood well enough.

"And Mrs Darby? Why can't she handle the controls? We'd need as many 'Bots as possible to keep the area secure."

Ratchet sighed, and began walking out of the main area. Arcee jogged to keep up with the mech, not commenting on the surprising speed of the aged medic. "In the event Miko is gravely injured when we retrieve her, I asked Nurse Darby to prepare the med bay for her arrival. She has brought many supplies both she and I thought might be needed. I cannot risk an unprepared med bay in case something goes wrong." Ratchet sped up with every word, and Arcee had to increase her jog to keep up with him.

They stayed in silence the rest of the way down the corridor, until Ratchet stopped outside one of the large doors. He pushed it open, and entered without missing a beat. Bulkhead and Bumblebee looked up at the two of them in surprise, halfway through another round of sparring. They both dropped out of their stances, and tried to hide the few dents and scratches they'd managed to accumulate. Ratchet barely managed to hide his distaste at them.

"We're leaving in five minutes. Get as many of those dents out as you can, and meet me by the Ground Bridge." The two mechs ran out before he could finish, nearly knocking Arcee over in their rush. Ratchet didn't comment on it, instead turning to Arcee. "Tell Optimus that we are leaving. I am going to rerun my tests one last time before we leave." With that said, Ratchet left the room, and one slightly startled Arcee. She didn't stay in the room long, though. She'd long since learnt the consequences of not obeying Ratchet's commands.

* * *

**That's it for chapter 9. Will Bulkhead reach Miko in time? Will Raf survive the big boom of doom caused by Wheeljack? What has happened to Jack? Only time will tell...**

**Two big pieces of news, everyone! First off, I discovered recently that I hit 10 000 views for this story! That's more than I had imagined when I posted this. Probably half never made it through this far, but I'm still pleased with myself. This was my first story, after all.**

**Second? I finished my exams! Not related to the story, true, but at least I have proof that my studying is paying off. For now, at least.**

**And here are responses to my reviewers (a big thanks for that! It makes my day!)**

**Foxbear: **Yes, thunder has struck all three of our scattered friends. The disappearance of Jack's mech will be explained if I get time later on. Miko has been busy, and all roads (for her) lead to trouble. Hmm, storms brewing... I think you just named the last chapter of the story...

**Riyappe Paws: **Glad you liked it! No, Jack's not going to be quarantined, unless you tilt your head and squint. Ratchet doesn't really star in the next chapter. Honestly, though, I _am_ wondering if I should put the after-effects of Miko's presence and interaction with them _in_ chapter 10, or make it a sort of one-shot. Sadly, it's won't fit anywhere else. It's not really a big scene, though. But yes, much laughter will follow.

**general zargon: **Oh no, typos! I just haven't had the time to triple check with exams (they're over now, though), and I haven't had the internet access to do late editing. I saw (too late) that I called First Aid _First Aif_ by accident...

Yes, things on Cybertron are heating up. The symbol Jack saw on the computer has _nothing_ to do with it, either (feel free to read that with as much sarcasm as you want.) I'll explain why the twins and Ratchet are on a jungle planet sometime in the next 3 chapters. Yeah, our mechanical cat is him. That's truthfully revealed after Miko gets home. Glad you enjoyed the chapter, and hope this one is just as good (with less typos, I hope...)!

**Blackshadow32 (guest): **Now you know more about Miko (and I think you might just want to know more...) Ratchet stopping his famous rant is a big event, I agree. And funnily enough, I was planning Raf's ending the entire story, and yet everyone mentions Wheeljack's famous explosions. He hasn't lost his touch, I have to admit.

There are plenty of twins, depending on how you define 'twin'. Frenzy and Rumble, for example. Some people consider Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp from G1 as triplets. But, it's the Terror Twins this time, and man oh man do they cause terror...

**Asher Tye: **I see that now. I am dying because of the shame and irony right now (have been since I saw it). Thanks for pointing it out. Hopefully I get time to fix this mess up soon. Thanks for pointing it out though. It made my week. (Ironically enough, my spell check still hasn't noticed it. Might have to fix that...)

Miko is going to find out a bit later about her friend's real identity (she's a bit busy not dying right now, as per usual), I'd say about chapter 13, 14? Raf losing his glasses is going to be a bit of a non-issue for him. Actually, this chapter is when he loses them. To be exact, it happens right after the big boom... Jack will find out sometime in the next six chapters. To be honest, he's going to be a hot potato in chapters 11 and 12, though... Glad you enjoyed the chaos, though!

**RamenKnight:** No problem. Here's another one.

**Soulhope The Wolf:** I'm a little too young to remember these things when they were new, but I did search the web for a bit on that one. No, he doesn't have them on his hips, but he does have them stored on his body. (I like thinking of it as retractable claw-like, only with missiles, if that makes sense.)

**summerflower13: **I wasn't too sure if I was supposed to be insulted or not by your review of Deceived Romance. It confused me a bit. I'm glad you want my stories to go on, though. I think. Still not sure.

**That's it for reviews! Thanks to everyone for them. They helped cheer me up right before my final mid-year exam. Thanks also to new followers. I'm glad the story is still gaining attention, even if it's only a few people.**

**Tell what you think, and if I made any big mistakes (spelling, overly OOCness, typos, dividing by zero...). Suggestions are more than welcome. I've had great ones so far that made Miko's story all the more better.**

**Now, I'm going to bed. It's two in the morning here, and I needed to finish Miko's piece for this... zzzzz...**

**Until soon,**

**JayJayinMay, conqueror of exams.**


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